Sehr leise

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff, often inside a heading (“Nicht schnell, immer sehr leise”; “Langsam und sehr leise”) or at a single entry. It stands for roughly pp and holds until another dynamic or a crescendo.

How Composers Use It

Very soft, with the same sense of atmosphere as leise: whispered, veiled, intimate. In Lieder it often heads a song whose text speaks of secrets or stillness. Add immer to stop performers drifting louder over a long stretch, and remember that at very soft levels singers and wind players need line and support — slow tempos and extreme registers make sehr leise harder to sustain.

Example

Schumann, Liederkreis, Op. 39, “Die Stille”: the heading “Nicht schnell, immer sehr leise” sets the level for the whole song.

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