Passionato

As Printed on a Score

Printed over a part or above the staff, alone at the entry of a theme or within a heading (“Allegro energico e passionato”); it lasts until the music’s character changes. It is less common than appassionato, and players read the two the same way.

How Composers Use It

Passionato asks for passion, intense, full-toned and urgent playing, exactly as appassionato does; the shorter form is simply rarer. Brahms used it for the surging main theme of his Third Symphony and in the heading of the Fourth’s finale. Put it where the line itself rises and strains, and mark the dynamic as well, since passion is not a volume.

Example

Brahms, Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90, first movement, first violins, m. 3: “passionato” at the entry of the movement’s main theme.

Related Terms