Un peu pressé

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff where the slight pressing begins, sometimes followed by dashes. It lasts until a cédez, retenu, au mouvement or other tempo word brings the pace back.

Also spelled: un peu presse

How Composers Use It

It asks for a modest push forward — urgency in the pulse, not a new tempo. French composers use pressé and pressez for short-lived quickening within a phrase, often answered by cédez. Boulanger pairs it with effleuré sans nuances, a reminder that pressing need not mean louder. Write the return explicitly so the push has a clear end.

Example

Boulanger, Clairières dans le ciel, “Nous nous aimerons tant”, piano, m. 14: “un peu pressé”, with “effleuré sans nuances” in the same bar and “cédez” two bars later.

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