Rascher

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff where the music quickens to a new pulse, alone or as Noch rascher or nach und nach rascher; it holds until the next tempo word. Like every comparative it is measured against the tempo just before it.

How Composers Use It

The comparative of rasch, so it keeps rasch’s lightness: a lift rather than a lunge. Mahler uses Noch rascher to drive a movement’s close, Schumann nach und nach rascher to let a song gather pace. Make sure the arrival tempo is still playable, and give the change a clear point of arrival.

Example

Mahler, Symphony No. 5, third movement (Scherzo), m. 799: “Noch rascher.”, in the movement’s closing pages.

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