Ziemlich geschwind

As Printed on a Score

Printed as a heading above the first bar, often with a character word after a comma (Ziemlich geschwind, kräftig; Ziemlich geschwind, unruhig); it holds until the next tempo word.

How Composers Use It

A shade quicker than etwas geschwind, used by Schubert for restless or defiant songs — “Die Wetterfahne”, “Der stürmische Morgen”, “Mut”. The comma-added character word does as much work as the tempo, so choose it carefully: kräftig adds weight, unruhig adds instability.

Example

Schubert, Winterreise, D. 911, No. 18, “Der stürmische Morgen”, voice, m. 1: “Ziemlich geschwind, doch kräftig”, with f two bars later.

Related Terms