A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Piacere, A

by J. A. Fuller-Maitland

PIACERE, A, 'at pleasure,' is generally prefixed to a cadenza, or cadenza-like passage, in solo vocal music, to indicate that the expressions, and the alterations whether of time or force, are left to the will of the individual performer. In such cases the accompaniment is generally directed to be played 'colla voce,' 'with the voice,' without regarding the strict time of the composition. A piacere is sometimes put to cadenzas in a concerto, but is not of frequent occurrence. It is not seldom found in cantabile passages in instrumental music, but ad libitum is the more common direction of the two, and expresses the same thing.

[ J. A. F. M. ]