The Short

Ex. 10.4.Wagner, Der fliegende HollÄnder, Act II, Scene iv
Wagner made no use of the term gehend after abandoning Italian directions in his later operas; any movements that
might have been marked ‘andante’ were almost certainly designated langsam, or mÄΒig (moderate), the latter of which,
as discussed below, could also in its Italian form, moderato, mean something very slow to Wagner.
Moderate Tempo Terms
Around 1780 Corri bracketed ‘allegretto’, ‘poco allegro’, ‘maestoso’, and ‘moderato’ together as ‘a small degree slower
than Allegro’. This certainly represents their usage by many composers during the next century, but there were many
subtle variants, and individual usages.
Moderato and Allegro Moderato
TEMPO TERMS 361
These terms were not generally regarded by eighteenth-century writers as indicating a distinct performance style, but
for musicians associated with the Viotti school of string players, they were, together with ‘maestoso’, particularly
cultivated and are often found for the opening movements of concertos. The Paris Conservatoire's Méthode and its
plagiarists required that ‘In Allegro maestoso, or Moderato assai, where the bowstroke should be faster and more
decided, one must give the staccato notes as much extent as possible and use about the middle of the bow so that the
strings, being put into full vibration, give a round tone. Here one should also make the down- and up-bow lively so
that after each