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Word of the Week (220): COMODO (probability 20970), by David Sutton

No, COMODO does not refer to a large and dangerous lizard with bad breath - that's the unplayable capitalised KOMODO*. Instead, it's one of that abundance of musical directions presumably well known to piano players and others, but which may have escaped the less musically active among us whose playing style leans more to the FORTISSIMO PRESTISSIMO. It has a variant spelling COMMODO.

Here are some other perhaps less well-known musical directions:

CALANDO means slowing with gradually lowering volume, as distinct from LENTANDO or LARGANDO which just mean slowing down. I don't know whether there is a subtle difference between CALANDO and MANCANDO, MORENDO, PERDENDO, SMORZANDO or SMORZATO, all of which seem to mean dying away.

DOLENTE means in a sorrowful manner. Perhaps not quite as sorrowfully as DOLOROSO, or as tear-jerkingly as LACRIMOSO (or LAGRIMOSO).

MAESTOSO means majestically. Perhaps much the same as POMPOSO, in a grand or ceremonial manner.

SCIOLTO means in a free manner. SCORRENDO means in a gliding manner: I assume (perhaps wrongly) that this involves using lots of GLISSANDOS (or GLISSANDI), which is the playing of lots of notes very quickly while keeping each one distinct.

RISOLUTO means boldly, with resolution. Unfortunately there does not seem to be a direction suggesting that one play timidly and with a complete lack of purpose, not to mention talent.

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