Toujours
“Always, continuously”.
What it means
Toujours is the French word for “always” and corresponds to the Italian sempre. It calls for an instruction to be maintained over a longer stretch: toujours piano means keeping the soft dynamic going, toujours lié means playing continuously bound.
The word never stands alone but joins the instruction it extends. It is encountered above all in French music, where composers set their performance markings in their own language. In such editions, other French additions also appear, for instance un peu (“a little”), très (“very”), or en dehors (“brought out”).
Like sempre, toujours often stands where the notated text would tempt toward a deviation.
In the notation
The word stands together with the relevant marking, above or below the staff depending on the type of instruction, and holds until a new marking. It replaces the repetition of the same instruction in every bar.
Musical use
French performance markings become more frequent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as composers formulate their indications more precisely and in their own language. They are often very differentiated and call for fine gradations of timbre and dynamics. In this context, toujours serves to maintain a once-chosen sound plane over a longer time.
The French word corresponds to the Italian sempre and calls for an instruction to be maintained, for instance toujours doux for always gentle. It stands above all in the scores of French composers such as Debussy and Ravel. The instruction is a hint of continuity: the character is not to let up, even as the music changes, new voices enter, or the harmony shifts. When practising, it helps to pay particular attention to the passages where one would involuntarily become louder or faster.
Performance practice
Take the addition as a warning against an obvious deviation. Check ascending lines and dense passages for whether you become louder or faster unnoticed. Maintain the instruction until the next marking. And read French markings precisely — they are often more finely graded than Italian ones.