Con grazia
Grace as proportion and poise — not added ornament
Related
Con grazia shares its root with grazioso and literally means "with grace"; it usually follows a tempo mark and colours the character of the speed. It governs bearing: an even line, accents that do not rasp, phrases that close cleanly.
Its difference from grazioso lies mostly in syntax, not meaning; as a qualifier it warns that the tempo must move with proportion — neither hurried nor dragged. The usual mistake is to hear it as an invitation to ornament — grace comes from proportion and breath, and no pile of trills and arpeggios rescues a melody played coarsely.
It is especially common in movements of dance character; set beside grazioso and leggiero, it shows what grace and lightness each take care of.
Sources
- con grazia 的含义与用法，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Grazioso"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.