Complete Encyclopaedia of Music/A/Andante

Andante. (I.) This word seems to have had, in times past, a signification different from that attached to it by the musicians of the present day, and is frequently to be found at the beginning of old movements of a grand and even cheerful style. But now, it is used to imply a time somewhat slow, and a performance distinct and exact, gentle, tender, and soothing.