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Moderate. The German equivalent of Moderato.
Printed above the staff as Mäßig or Mässig (the ss spelling is usual in older editions), often compounded — Mäßig bewegt, Mäßig langsam, Mäßig schnell, Sehr mäßig. It lasts until the next tempo word. Because it means moderate rather than naming a speed, the word paired with it decides the pace.
Also spelled: Mässig, Massig, Maessig
Schubert, Wolf and Mahler use Mäßig for moderate tempi. It can be modified: Mäßig bewegt (moderately moving), Mäßig schnell (moderately fast). The word carries connotations of restraint and measure.
Schubert, Die schöne Müllerin, D. 795, No. 19 “Der Müller und der Bach”, voice, m. 1: “Mässig” heads the song, spelled with ss as in most older editions.
Mäßig is one of 1760 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary: the words, abbreviations and instrument names that appear in printed scores, plus the vocabulary composers use to talk about them.
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