Ralentir

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff where the slowing begins, as an infinitive (ralentir), imperative (ralentissez) or gerund (en ralentissant), often extended — ralentir peu à peu, ralentir de plus en plus, en ralentissant beaucoup. It is gradual and continues until a tempo word (a tempo, Très lent, au Mouvt) fixes the new pace.

Also spelled: ralentissez, ralentissant, en ralentissant

How Composers Use It

The French rallentando: a gradual slowing, distinct from retenu (held back at once). Satie prefers the infinitive (ralentir, retenir, suivre), which gives his directions the tone of plain instructions. Use it for approaches to cadences or endings, and give it a destination: Satie’s Ralentir peu à peu in Socrate lands on Très lent two bars later, so the performer knows how far to go.

Example

Satie, Socrate, “Les bords de l’Ilissus”, piano, m. 203: “Ralentir peu à peu”, arriving at “Très lent” two bars later as the dynamic falls from p to ppp.

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