l'istesso tempo

English

Etymology

From Italian l'istesso tempo (“the same tempo”). Li istesso is contracted to L'istesso in standard written Italian.

Phrase

l'istesso tempo

1. (music) Indicates that the following movement should be played at the same tempo as the last, often employed when switching from simple to compound metres or vice versa, to clarify that the tempo stays the same in reference to the beats felt, not the time signature.