Unmerklich

As Printed on a Score

Qualifies a gradual change so that the listener should not notice it happening: Unmerklich zu Tempo I zurückkehren, unmerklich etwas einhaltend, (aber unmerklich). Printed above the staff where the change begins, it governs the transition until the target tempo is reached.

How Composers Use It

A Mahler hallmark: a tempo change stretched so thin that no bar sounds different from the one before. Give it a long span and a clear goal; across a few bars it becomes impossible. It also warns against the usual telegraphed ritardando — players should shade the tempo without the audience feeling a gear change.

Example

Mahler, Symphony No. 5, first movement (Trauermarsch), m. 242: “Unmerklich zu Tempo I zurückkehren.” — return to the main tempo without the join being heard.

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