Primo

As Printed on a Score

Printed in tempo returns above the staff (Tempo primo, Tempo I, 1° Tempo); as Primo it heads the upper part of a piano duet, and in part names (Violino primo) it marks the first player or section.

How Composers Use It

Tempo primo restores the movement’s opening tempo and cancels everything in between. In piano duets, Primo and Secondo label the two players; older editions print them on facing pages, Secondo on the left. For orchestral parts, number consistently — Italian ordinals or numerals (1., 2.) — rather than mixing the two in one score.

Example

Brahms, Intermezzo in A major, Op. 118 No. 2, m. 65: “Tempo primo” at p, a bar after “tre corde” cancels the una corda of the “più lento” section.

Related Terms