Molto ritenuto

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff as molto riten., riten. molto or in full (molto rit. is ambiguous with ritardando); it takes effect at once and lasts until a tempo or a new tempo word. In songs it usually appears in both the voice and piano parts.

Abbreviations: molto riten., molto rit., riten. molto

How Composers Use It

A strong, immediate holding back: the music drops into a much slower pace at once, as if suspended. It suits a single climactic or poignant phrase — the last line of a song, a final cadence — rather than a long passage. Use riten. in the abbreviation to avoid confusion with ritardando, and mark the a tempo or the next tempo precisely.

Example

Mahler, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, “Ging heut’ morgen übers Feld”, voice and piano, m. 99: “molto riten.”, printed in both parts in a song headed “Gemächlich”.

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