Allegro Vivace: Fast and lively (140–176 BPM)
Allegro vivace means fast and lively, a tempo of roughly 140-176 BPM combining allegro's speed with vivace's sparkle.
Allegro Vivace Metronome: 140 to 176 BPM
Press play to hear Allegro Vivace at 160 BPM, or switch to the slow and fast ends of the range.
Loops until you press Stop. Beat 1 is accented so you can feel where the bar starts.
What Allegro Vivace Means
Allegro vivace combines the speed of allegro with the sparkling liveliness of vivace, resulting in a tempo that is both fast and brilliantly animated. It pushes beyond standard allegro toward vivace speeds, with a character that is joyful, energetic, and effervescent. This marking is common in symphonic finales and overtures.
Etymology
Italian, 'allegro' (lively) + 'vivace' (vivacious), literally 'lively and vivacious'
BPM Range
Minimum: 140 BPM
Maximum: 176 BPM
Typical: 160 BPM
Allegro vivace needs both speed and sparkle. Focus on light, crisp articulation and rhythmic precision. The character should be buoyant and energetic, never heavy or labored.
Allegro Vivace in Real Music
Allegro vivace is a compound marking that pushes past ordinary allegro without committing to presto, and it lives mostly in overtures and finales. Mendelssohn opened his Symphony No. 4, the Italian, with an Allegro vivace whose leaping violin theme over pulsing winds is one of the most immediately joyful openings in the repertoire, and the brightness of the marking is doing real work: the same notes at a slower tempo sound merely pleasant. Beethoven closed his Symphony No. 8 with an Allegro vivace finale full of rhythmic jokes, sudden accents and an unexpected wrong-key intrusion that only land if the music is moving fast enough for the surprises to arrive before the listener catches up. Mozart's overtures work in the same territory, though he generally wrote presto for that effect. The marking is characteristic of the Classical and early Romantic periods; Baroque composers rarely stacked qualifiers this way. Its 140-176 BPM span begins above allegro's midpoint and reaches vivace's ceiling, so it genuinely occupies the ground between the two. The performance demand is buoyancy: light, crisp articulation, precise rhythm and no weight on downbeats. Playing allegro vivace heavily is the standard mistake, and it makes fast music sound laboured rather than exhilarating.
Example Pieces
- Symphony No. 4 'Italian', 1st movement (Allegro vivace), Felix Mendelssohn
- Symphony No. 8, 4th movement (Allegro vivace), Ludwig van Beethoven
- The Marriage of Figaro Overture (Presto, allegro vivace character), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Common Genres
Related Tempo Markings
Frequently Asked Questions
What BPM is allegro vivace?
Allegro vivace typically ranges from 140-176 BPM, bridging the gap between allegro and vivace. It combines the speed of both markings.
Is allegro vivace faster than allegro?
Yes, allegro vivace is faster than standard allegro. The 'vivace' qualifier pushes the tempo toward the upper range of allegro and into vivace territory.
How fast is allegro vivace on a metronome?
Set a metronome to 140-176 BPM for allegro vivace, around 160 BPM. That overlaps the top of allegro's 120-156 BPM range and reaches the ceiling of vivace at 176 BPM.
What pieces are marked allegro vivace?
Mendelssohn opens his Italian Symphony, No. 4, with an Allegro vivace, and Beethoven closes his Symphony No. 8 with one. The marking is common in overtures and symphonic finales.
Is allegro vivace faster than vivace?
Not quite. Allegro vivace runs 140-176 BPM while vivace sits at 156-176 BPM, so vivace's range starts higher. The two meet at the top, but allegro vivace can be taken noticeably slower.
Related References
Practise Allegro Vivace at Any Tempo
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