Sehr
“Molto”, an intensifying word.
What it means
Sehr is the German intensifying word and corresponds to the Italian molto or assai. It is added to a tempo, performance, or dynamic marking and intensifies it: “very slow,” “very expressive,” “very soft.”
The word never stands alone. Its effect depends entirely on the term it intensifies and on what would be meant without the addition. “Very lively” lies distinctly above “lively,” “very calm” distinctly below it.
Within the framework of the German gradation words, sehr forms the upper pole. Below it lie the unintensified base word and the weakening additions etwas, ziemlich, or mäßig. As with the Italian additions, the gradation is not measurable but can only be determined in relation to the other markings of a work.
In the notation
The word stands together with the base word above the staff for tempo and performance markings, below the staff for dynamic markings. In German-language editions it completely replaces the Italian additions when the composer marks throughout in German.
Musical use
German performance markings with graded additions become more frequent in the nineteenth century, as composers want to fix expression more precisely in their own language. Some composers mark whole works exclusively in German, often with long, carefully graded indications in which sehr plays a central role.
Sehr is the German equivalent of molto or assai and intensifies tempo and expression markings, for instance sehr langsam, sehr lebhaft, or sehr zart. It stands in German-language Romantic scores, in Schumann, Brahms, Mahler, and Strauss. The effect depends on the intensified word: sehr langsam demands distinctly more calm than langsam. It holds to stay within the style and not to overdo the intensification...
Performance practice
Relate the addition to the base word and compare with what would be meant without it: the intensification should be audible. With tempo markings, check whether the intensified tempo still holds at the densest passage. And keep the chosen degree consistent through the whole section, instead of showing it only at the beginning.