In modern times, Allegro is widely considered fast and energetic tempo. Nevertheless, this consensus still leaves many players with the question: How fast is Allegro? This is a difficult question to answer as the Italian word allegro only means "cheerful" or "joyous" and does not carry any meaning in respect of tempo/speed.
In this concise essay, I will very early concepts and applications of tempo and allegro in written music, with examples found in music treatises of the 16th century such as Opera Intitulata Fontegara by Silvestro Ganassi dal Fontego, Libro de música de vihuela de mano. Intitulado "El maestro (1536)" by Luis de Milán, and Le Istitutioni Harmoniche (Venice, 1558) by Gioseffo Zarlino. By observing how the notion of tempo and allegro emerged and developed, we will realize that trying to figure out only speed of performance by looking at tempo marking is not an ideal approach.
One of the first appearances of the word Allegro
One of the first appearances of the word allegro in western written music is found in "Opera Intitulata Fontegara by Silvestro Ganassi dal Fontego, a musical treatise published in Venice in 1535 on playing the recorder and ornamentation. In this book, Ganassi points to a type of trill as the means of cheerful playing (allegro). The use of Allegro as tempo marking before 1600 is practically unknown.
The earliest written example of tempo indications
In terms of the earliest written example of tempo indications in music history, here is the book called Libro de música de vihuela de mano. Intitulado "El maestro (1536)" by Luis de Milán. Luis de Milán was a composer and vihuelist from Spain and was the first composer in history to publish music for the vihuela (this book was dedicated to King John III of Portugal). In this book, Luis de Milán provided verbal tempo indications such as "neither too quickly nor too slowly but with a moderate measure", "(play) chordal parts slowly and scales quickly" or "rubato" for his fantasias.
Le Istitutioni Harmoniche (Venice, 1558) by Gioseffo Zarlino
One of the very early examples of the concept of Allegro can be found in the theory book called Le Istitutioni Harmoniche (Venice, 1558) written by Gioseffo Zarlino, a well known Italian music theorist and composer in the Renaissance period.
In the book, Zarlino says that harmony and rhythm should follow the words and not the other way round. Zarlino uses the words allegro, allegre, and allegramente throughout the book mostly meaning "cheerful".
Very interestingly, he also explains how the word "cheerful" should be translated into music in terms of rhythms and speed.
Singing:
"sing according to the nature of the words in composition in such a way that when the words contain materials that are cheerful, they should be sung cheerfully…"
Composition:
"if a text deals with subjects that are, cheerful or sad, grave or without gravity, and modest or lascivious, a choice of harmony and rhythm must be made in accordance with the nature of the subject matter contained in the text"
Rhythms and speed:
"if the subject matter contained in the text is cheerful, one should proceed with powerful and fast movements, namely, with note values that convey swiftness of movement, such as the minim and the semiminim. But when the subject matter is tearful, one should proceed with slow and long movements"
At this time, music was still subordinate to texts or words, as we can see from Zarlino's instructions in his treatise above. The very early concept of tempo and tempo indication such as Allegro emerged as a result of attempts by ancient composers to express emotional quality of the texts and words through music, with the use of musical elements such as harmony, rhythm, note values and movements (slow and fast). In later periods, music would be freed from this hierarchy (music didn't need texts anymore to be based on), though the essence of tempo remained unchanged.
