Sans lenteur

As Printed on a Score

Usually a tempo heading at the start of a song or movement, sometimes after a tempo word (Modéré, sans lenteur; Andantino sans lenteur). It lasts until the next tempo word, warning against a tempo slower than intended.

How Composers Use It

A tempo defined by the mistake to avoid: whatever the music’s calm, it must not drag. Lili Boulanger uses it as the whole heading of several songs in Clairières dans le ciel, leaving the speed to the text; Debussy’s Rêverie is marked Andantino sans lenteur. Use it where expressive material invites a performer to slow down — lyrical lines, quiet dynamics — and add a positive tempo word if you need to fix the speed.

Example

Lili Boulanger, Clairières dans le ciel, “Au pied de mon lit”, voice, m. 1: “Sans lenteur”, with p and “simple et calme”.

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