Schwermütig

As Printed on a Score

A German character word printed above the staff, most often in a heading beside a tempo word — Langsam und schwermütig — and sometimes paired with an Italian equivalent in bilingual editions. Older prints spell it schwermüthig. It colours the whole section it heads.

Also spelled: schwermüthig

How Composers Use It

It describes mood, not speed, so it needs a tempo word — and because melancholy invites dragging, Mahler adds nicht schleppend to keep the pulse alive. It asks for dark colour, weight in the phrasing and restraint rather than open lament (compare klagend). Like other German expressive headings, it marks a composer who wanted the performer to feel the character in their own language.

Example

Mahler, Kindertotenlieder, “Nun will die Sonn’ so hell aufgeh’n!”: the heading “Langsam und schwermütig, nicht schleppend”, printed in this edition with the Italian “Lento e malincolico, ma non strascinando”.

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