TEMPO MARKINGS OF BERNARD HERRMANN SCORES ...

what prior speed? In this case, it is Lento but it could very well have been Moderato or
even Allegro.
In the overwhelmingly number of entries, Herrmann inserted the traditional
Italian-named tempo markings, but many with creative variations or additions (tempo
adornments). Of course the most-used tempo marking was the unadorned Lento marking.
Of my large representative sampling (again, most of Herrmann’s scores), he used about
480 unadorned Lento markings (or 13.7% of the total). Next would be the unadorned
Moderato at about 350 entries of the approximately 3,500 entries (or 10% of the total).
Next in frequency was Slow (of course not Italian!) at about 155 or 4.4 %. Slow has the
same overall basic meaning (and speed) as Lento, incidentally, as indicated by the
metronome markings (as I’ll delineate shortly). Next in frequency is the unadorned Largo
at about 121 entries (3.5 %). Largo is slower in tempo than Lento, or about 40-50 BPM
(Beats Per Minute). Next in frequency is the unadorned Allegro of about 115 entries (or
3.3 %). Next in frequency is Slowly of about 86 entries (or 2.5 %). Slowly is generally a
bit slower (in Herrmann’s metronome indications) than Slow (or 50-60). Finally the
unadorned Andante has about 71 entries or 2%.
Whenever available, I included in each entry the m.m. or metronome marking that
Herrmann entered. Alas, this was quite infrequent. I estimate that of my 3,500 entries,
only about 6% (about 200 entries) had metronome indications. He tended to put more
m.m. numbers on his feature film scores than on his television scores, and practically
none in his radio scores (such as Crime Classics where I believe only two, maybe three,
scores had m.m. indications). Metronome markings would be essential to gauge the
actual (scientific) speed of a cue or section of a cue, although back in Herrmann’s period
there was no digital click timings. Moreover, remember that these m.m. indications are
Herrmann’s own and, like the descriptive tempo markings, were approximations, ever
varying. For example, Moderato m/m. indications (of about 45 entries that I have)
showed a range from 60-80 b.p.m. Allegro ranged from 120-160 (but overwhelmingly at
120). Lento was almost always consistently at 60 b.p.m. (as annotated by Herrmann).,
and Maestoso ranged from 60-70 (usually 60). Largo ranged from 40-50 b.p.m. (edging
towards 40). Molto Pesante (and its derivatives) usually were at 60 b.p.m.. Slow ranged
from 50-60, although normally placed at 60, whereas the small sample of Slowly and
Very Slowly was usually at 50. Allegro Moderato ranged the most from 60-120 (no
weighting on any particular speed). Vivo in my very small sample was normally at 120
b.p.m.
Different texts give different ranges of speed for tempo markings. Normally we
have the followed standard and oft-used markings (from slowest to fastest):
Largo to Lento to Adagio to Andante to Moderato to Allegro to Allegretto to Presto
Some texts (such as Grant’s Handbook of Music Terms) bestow Adagio as slower
than Lento. Some texts give Lento a 50-66 range, while others give a 40-56 range, and so
forth. Andante is given a 72-88 range, while other texts attribute a range of 76-108, etc.
Some texts give a range of 108-120 to Moderato while others feel that 85-95 is more the
real range. The same variation tends to apply to the meanings of the descriptive tempo
markings. Adagio is sometimes referred to as slow or even very (quite) slow to
moderately slow and leisurely. Andante is often spoken of as being moderate (but rather
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