lacrimoso

dynamicslah-kree-MOH-zofrom Italian

A performance direction meaning tearfully, with weeping expression and sorrowful character‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‍‌‍

In Depth

Lacrimoso calls for a sound imbued with grief and lamentation.‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‍‌‍ The tone should be warm but fragile, the phrasing should breathe with sighs, and dynamic swells should suggest suppressed emotion. The tempo is typically slow, and the performer must sustain a mood of deep sadness without becoming maudlin. The term carries associations with funeral music, laments, and settings of sorrowful texts.

Did you know?

Mozart's Requiem contains the most famous Lacrimosa in all of music — and it was the last passage he worked on before his death, breaking off after eight bars.