Musical Terms

Below are definitions for the musical terms used in the play. The terms are followed by the page number where they can be found in the script. Please contact me if you have questions that are not answered here.

Adagio Movement (5)—Slow Section. Adagio means slow; it is slower than Andante but faster than Largo. A Movement is a self-contained part of a composition. Symphonies are often divided into movements. Etiquette note: at a concert, one should not applaud at the end of a movement but rather save your applause until the end of the composition, which may have several movements.

Clavichord (6)—a musical instrument much like a piano, but smaller. One distinctive feature of the sound of the clavichord is that this instrument is often "double-strung," in other words, there are two strings struck for each note. Below is a photo of a contemporary Clavichord and a link to some of Mozart's music played on a clavichord.