Menuetto

As Printed on a Score

Printed as the heading of a minuet movement or section, usually with a tempo word (Allegretto, Allegro molto e vivace). Trio follows, and Menuetto da capo, Menuetto D.C. or D.C. al Fine at the end of the trio sends the player back.

Also spelled: minuetto

How Composers Use It

Menuetto is the hybrid spelling Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven used; standard Italian is minuetto. The heading promises triple metre and a binary dance with a contrasting trio, but its speed varies widely — Beethoven sets his First Symphony’s over Allegro molto e vivace, a scherzo in all but name. Give a tempo word too, since Menuetto alone no longer fixes a pace.

Example

Beethoven, Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21, third movement, flute, m. 1: “Menuetto” over “Allegro molto e vivace”.

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