Entspannt
To be performed calmly, composedly.
What it means
Entspannt is a German performance marking and calls for a calm, relaxed performance. What is meant is an attitude without pressure: even pulse, soft tone production, accents that do not push, and dynamics without large swings.
The marking concerns expression, not tempo. A relaxed performance need not be slow — even lively music can seem relaxed if it does not push.
Related are gelassen as the German and tranquillo as the Italian equivalent. It differs from the words for gentleness such as soave in that entspannt means less the softness of the sound than the absence of tension.
In the notation
The word stands above the staff at the beginning of a movement or section, in German-language editions in place of an Italian marking. It applies until a new marking. It is often found after a tense section and then marks the turn.
Musical use
The designation is used where the music comes to rest: in middle sections, after climaxes, in postludes. In the song and piano literature it stands over passages where a tension is released. As a counterpole to urgent sections it belongs to the means by which a movement articulates its courses of tension.
The German instruction stands above all in newer music and in light-music and jazz arrangements, where it demands a loose, non-pushing performance. Equivalents are rilassato, tranquillo, or English relaxed, laid back. The pulse should stay stable despite the relaxation.
Performance practice
Keep the pulse even and refrain from pushing; composure arises from steadiness. Take back the accents and let the phrases end without emphasis. Watch for a soft attack and avoid harshness. And check your own tension: a cramped arm or breath is audible in the sound, even if all the notes are right.