Vibrant

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff or over a part, alone or in combinations such as soutenu et vibrant. It describes tone quality for the passage and lasts until another character marking.

Also spelled: vibrante

How Composers Use It

It asks for resonant, ringing tone — full vibrato in strings and voices, a sustained, singing sound at the piano. Joined to soutenu, it asks for both length and resonance. It does not mean loud: Boulanger writes soutenu et vibrant at p. Choose it where warmth and resonance matter more than clarity, and avoid it where you want a pure, still sound.

Example

Boulanger, Clairières dans le ciel, “Deux ancolies”, piano, m. 18: “soutenu et vibrant”, at p, a bar after “cédez”.