Molto rallentando

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff as molto rall., rall. molto, or in full, often with dashes, over the closing bars of a phrase or piece; a tempo, a new tempo word or a fermata ends it.

Abbreviations: molto rall., rall. molto

How Composers Use It

A pronounced, gradual slowing, often felt as more relaxed and fading than ritardando; Debussy pairs it with morendo at the ends of songs. Use it for endings that should dissolve rather than stop, and give it enough notes to unfold. If the following passage starts in a new, slower tempo, name that tempo so the slowing has somewhere to land.

Example

Debussy, Ariettes oubliées, “L’Ombre des arbres”, voice, m. 24: “molto rallentando”, at p, in a song headed “Lent et triste”.

Related Terms