Animato: meaning and use in music

Animato means 'animated, lively', asking for spirited, quickened playing.

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How is animato played?

The performer plays in an animated, lively way, often with a slight lift in tempo and a brightening of energy. Animato can stand on its own as a character word or qualify a tempo (as in 'Allegro animato'), and it frequently appears mid-movement to mark a passage growing more excited. It is a close relative of the directive 'animando', which calls for becoming progressively more animated. The emphasis is on vitality and forward life rather than sheer speed.

How does animato sound?

Lively, animated and buoyant, with a sense of quickened vitality.

In context

Animato is defined in standard glossaries as 'animated, lively'. It functions as a general character qualifier across the repertoire rather than being tied to one canonical work.

Music theory and score context

See also

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