Vite

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff as a tempo heading (Vite) or with a qualifier — pas vite, assez vite, plus vite, moins vite — at the bar where the tempo changes. It lasts until the next tempo word; in songs it may alternate with slower markings every few bars.

How Composers Use It

A plain, quick tempo — roughly the French equivalent of Allegro or Presto, with no character attached. That plainness is its point: Lili Boulanger uses bare Vite for sudden changes inside slow songs. Because vite says nothing about mood, add a second word (léger, sec, agité) when the character matters. Vif, its neighbour, means lively rather than simply fast.

Example

Lili Boulanger, Clairières dans le ciel, “Demain fera un an”, voice, m. 80: “Vite”, four bars after “Agité”, with “à l’aise” following at m. 82.

Related Terms