Murmure

As Printed on a Score

Printed over a vocal line or above the staff at a very soft dynamic, as murmure or the participle murmuré. It describes a hushed, half-voiced delivery for the phrase it marks.

Also spelled: murmuré

How Composers Use It

It asks for a murmur: very soft, intimate, slightly veiled sound — the voice almost speaking under the breath, or in instruments a quiet continuous rustle. Debussy places it at pp after a louder phrase so that the voice recedes. Combine it with a dynamic to fix the level, and keep the accompaniment light enough for a murmured line to be heard.

Example

Debussy, Ariettes oubliées, “C’est l’extase langoureuse”, voice, m. 46: “murmure”, at pp two bars after an mf, with ppp following in the next bar.