Sanft

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff as a heading or passage word, often in parentheses beside an Italian direction (“con amabilità (sanft)”), or joined to a tempo word (Sanft bewegt). It lasts until another character word.

How Composers Use It

Sanft means gentle: a soft touch, rounded attacks, warmth without weight. Beethoven glossed his Italian with it in Op. 110, and later German composers use it alone or in headings such as Sanft bewegt. It is close to dolce. Treat it as character rather than level — pair it with p or mp — and avoid sharp accents or staccato inside a sanft passage unless the contrast is intended.

Example

Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major, Op. 110, first movement, m. 1: “(sanft)” glosses “con amabilità” at p, with the heading “Moderato cantabile molto espressivo”.

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