Molto più lento

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff at the start of a markedly slower section — often a trio or central episode — sometimes with a character instruction such as sotto voce; it lasts until Tempo I or another tempo word.

Also spelled: molto piu lento

How Composers Use It

A large step down in tempo, used where the formal contrast matters as much as the change of speed: the middle of a fast scherzo, a moment of suspension before a return. Because it is relative to a tempo that may be very fast, the resulting speed can vary widely between performances; a metronome mark or a named slow tempo (Andante, Lento) pins it down.

Example

Chopin, Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20, m. 305: “Molto più lento.”, printed with “sotto voce e ben legato.”, opens the trio of the first of his four Scherzos.

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