A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Pietoso

by J. A. Fuller-Maitland

PIETOSO, 'pitiful' or 'compassionate.' As a musical direction it indicates that the passage to which it refers is to be performed in a sympathetic style, with much feeling. Although the term appears in Brossard's Dictionary, where it is defined as 'd'une manière capable d'exciter de la pitié ou de la compassion,' it is not to be found in Beethoven's works, and the 'romantic' composers, in whose music it might be expected to occur frequently, seem to prefer other terms to indicate the same intention. 'Con duolo' is Weber's favourite equivalent, and most composers find 'espressivo' sufficiently definite.

[ M. ]