Ruhiger

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff where the music settles, often after a climax or at a second theme; it holds until the next tempo word. It changes tempo and mood together — calmer and usually a little slower — relative to what came before.

How Composers Use It

The German più tranquillo. It is gentler than langsamer because it describes the state you arrive in rather than a measurement, so players will ease into it rather than snap. Use it for a lyrical episode inside a lively movement, and restore the energy with Tempo I or Wieder lebhaft.

Example

Brahms, Acht Lieder und Gesänge, Op. 57, No. 1, “Von waldbekränzter Höhe”, voice, m. 18: “Ruhiger”, in a song headed “Lebhaft”.

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