Poco lento

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff as a heading or at a slower section within a movement, and in force until the next tempo word. In songs it may be paired with Recit. when the opening is declaimed freely before a regular pulse sets in.

How Composers Use It

Somewhat slow: a gentle slowness, less grave than Lento itself. It is a useful marking for intimate music that should feel unhurried without heaviness, and Brahms used it in songs and partsongs. Because poco makes the instruction approximate, it reads naturally as an easing after something faster; as a heading, add a metronome mark if the speed matters.

Example

Brahms, Fünf Gedichte, Op. 19, No. 5, “An eine Aeolsharfe”, voice, m. 1: “Poco lento”, printed with “Recit.”

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