Allegrissimo

What it means

Allegrissimo is the intensifying form of Allegro. The ending -issimo strengthens the base word, so a very fast tempo is meant, one that reaches into the range of Presto and Prestissimo. No fixed figure can be given; the word describes a ratio — faster than Allegro — and not an absolute measure.

The marking is rare. For very rapid tempos composers usually reach for Presto or for additions such as Allegro assai, Allegro molto or Allegro vivace. Since allegro originally means “cheerful”, the superlative can at the same time be read as an indication of character.

In the notation

The word stands above the first system of a movement or section. Because the marking is rare, some editions add a metronome figure; it then as a rule comes from the editor and is to be understood as a guide, not as the composer’s prescription.

Musical use

The designation is found, for instance, in Domenico Scarlatti, whose harpsichord sonata in B minor, K. 377, is headed Allegrissimo. Because it is so unusual, it acts as a signal: here, expressly, more should happen than in the ordinary fast movement.

Performance practice

Determine the tempo from the hardest passage, not from the beginning — what goes effortlessly in the first bars does not decide the movement. Keep the articulation small: in very fast tempos tiny movements suffice, large ones cost time you do not have. Count in larger units, often whole bars rather than single beats, or the motion falls apart. And see that accents are preserved; a very fast piece without metric gradient sounds uniform rather than brilliant.