Rapido

Rapido is the Italian word for ‘rapid’ or ‘swift’. As a tempo marking it instructs the performer to play at a fast tempo, typically faster than allegro but without the headlong abandon of presto. It is less codified than the standard tempo terms — composers often pair it with adverbs (rapidamente, ‘rapidly’) or use it as a textural cue rather than a strict speed.

The word appears in Italian opera scores, in 20th-century Italian composers (Respighi, Casella, Malipiero), and occasionally as a generic tempo cue in film and theatre music. When used alone, it functions a bit like ‘quickly’ in English: it sets a brisk pace but invites the performer to interpret rather than measure.

Rapido is also the form used in some Spanish and Portuguese scores, where it carries essentially the same meaning. The Italian form became part of the international vocabulary thanks to the export of Italian opera in the 19th century.

Italian and Spanish, from Latin rapidus (‘snatching, rushing, swift’), from rapere (‘to seize, snatch’). Related to English rapid.

Read rapido as an instruction in character rather than a metric. Set a tempo that feels swift and animated, but consult the surrounding music for cues — a rapido e leggiero ('rapid and light') passage demands a different feel than rapido e marcato.