Tranquillo

What it means

Tranquillo means “calm, still” and calls for an at-ease performance: an even pulse, soft tone production, restrained dynamics, no pressing forward.

The marking concerns expression. It affects the tempo, because a calm performance is as a rule somewhat more restrained, but it does not fix it. If tranquillo stands in the middle of a movement, it often means a slight pulling-back relative to what preceded it.

The word is to be distinguished from calmando: this designates the process of becoming calm, tranquillo the state reached. Often a calmando is followed by a tranquillo. The German equivalent is ruhig or gelassen.

In the notation

The word stands in italics above the staff, alone or as an addition to a tempo word, and holds until a new marking. It is often found together with soft dynamics, even accompaniment figures, and bound melodic writing.

Musical use

The marking is used in secondary themes, in middle sections after animated passages, in closing sections, and in lyrical movements. In nineteenth-century music it is among the most frequent character markings and often stands at points where a movement comes to rest after an intensification.

Frequent combinations are più tranquillo and andante tranquillo. It often stands after animated sections and brings calm into the music. Tranquillo describes above all the character; it can be connected with a slight easing of the tempo, but not necessarily. Hard accents and sharp entries are to be avoided. The pulse stays stable and relaxed, the line flowing. Tranquillo is related to calmo and quieto. that the calm does not lead to rigidity: the music should breathe and flo

Performance practice

Keep the pulse even; calm arises from steadiness. Pull back the accents and let phrases end without emphasis. Watch for a soft attack. And check whether the tempo should be pulled back slightly relative to the previous section — the marking often suggests this without prescribing it.