Meaning & use
molto cantabile
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Meanings
phrasefixed phrasemusic
A musical instruction telling a performer to play or sing in a very songlike, flowing manner.
Grammar: Used as a direction in a score or after a verb of playing or singing; it does not change form.
Patterns
- play something molto cantabile
- sing molto cantabile
- marked molto cantabile
The second movement is marked molto cantabile, so the violinist let each line breathe.
She sang the aria molto cantabile, shaping the phrases like a gentle lullaby.
The conductor asked for a molto cantabile reading of the opening theme.
phrasesingularmusic
A passage or piece that is meant to be performed in this very songlike style.
Grammar: Used as a noun phrase for the passage itself, often after 'a' or 'the'.
Patterns
- a molto cantabile
- the molto cantabile in the slow movement
The molto cantabile in the slow movement is the emotional heart of the symphony.
Critics praised the molto cantabile that opens the finale.
Common combinations
- marked molto cantabile
- The score is marked molto cantabile from bar twelve.
- play molto cantabile
- He was told to play molto cantabile rather than strictly in time.
- molto cantabile passage
- That molto cantabile passage needs a warm, steady tone.
- sing molto cantabile
- The choir sang molto cantabile, with long, smooth lines.
- molto cantabile style
- The pianist adopted a molto cantabile style throughout the adagio.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cantabile
- Cantabile alone already means songlike; adding molto simply intensifies it to 'very songlike'.
- legato
- Legato refers to smooth connection between notes, while molto cantabile describes the overall singing character of a passage.
- dolce
- Dolce means sweetly and softly, a mood instruction, whereas molto cantabile is about a flowing, vocal quality.
Opposites
Word family
- cantabile adjective
- Songlike or singing in style, without the intensifier molto.
- cantata noun
- A vocal composition with instrumental accompaniment, from the same Italian root meaning 'sung'.
Commonly confused: molto cantabile or molto allegro? molto cantabile or cantabile?
molto cantabile vs molto allegro
Molto allegro means very fast, a tempo instruction, while molto cantabile concerns expressive, songlike playing.
molto cantabile vs cantabile
Cantabile is the base term; molto cantabile adds 'very' and is a stronger, more specific direction.
Practice
A score marked 'molto cantabile' tells the performer to play:
Choose one answer.
Molto cantabile means 'very songlike', so the performer should shape phrases in a flowing, vocal manner. 'Very fast' would be molto allegro, and 'strictly in time' describes tempo discipline, not this expressive marking.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “molto cantabile”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.