Wistful

What it means

Wehmütig is a German performance marking and calls for an expression of gentle, backward-looking sorrow. Wehmut is sadness over something past or lost — not violent, but quiet, often with a touch of tenderness.

Within the words for sorrow, the differences lie in the colouring. Schmerzlich means present, felt pain, schwermütig the heavy, lasting sadness, flebile the tearful tone. Wehmütig designates the mild, backward-turned sorrow. The closest Italian equivalent is malinconico or mesto.

The marking concerns the expression, not the tempo, but affects it: a wistful performance is calm.

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, and holds until a new marking. It is often found together with a calm tempo, soft dynamics, and singing melodic writing, often alternating between major and minor.

Musical use

The designation is used in songs with a corresponding text, in character pieces, and in slow movements of a lyrical tone. In nineteenth-century music, which names states of mind precisely, it is among the frequent performance words. Characteristic is the mixture of sorrow and warmth, which often shows itself musically in the wavering between major and minor.

The German instruction calls for a wistful, longing expression with a soft tone and calm tempo. It is typical of Romantic music, in songs and piano pieces. Wistfulness is quieter than pain: a look back, mixed from sorrow and tenderness. Small delays, soft attacks, and bound lines carry the character. The marking is found in songs by Schumann and Brahms and corresponds to the Italian malinconico.

Performance practice

Keep the tone soft and the dynamics restrained; wistfulness does not work through loudness. Give weight to harmonic clouding, for instance the shift from major to minor. Let phrases fade gently. And avoid exaggeration — the expression is restrained, not plaintive.