Religioso

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff as a character word, usually after a tempo word (Andante religioso, Adagio religioso) at the head of a movement or a hymn-like section; it holds until the next character word.

How Composers Use It

Religioso asks for a devotional manner: hushed, sustained, chorale-like playing with an unhurried tempo and smooth connection. It often marks a hymn-like texture of block chords and organ-like sonority, and the word does much of its work by evoking that sound. It is more about the style of church music than the private piety of divoto. Use it where the texture already suggests a chorale; on busy material it has little to grip.

Related Terms