semplice
dynamicsSEM-plee-chay
A performance direction meaning simply, without affectation or excessive ornamentation
Semplice instructs the performer to strip away artifice and play with direct, unadorned sincerity. The tone should be clear and pure, the phrasing natural and speech-like, and any tendency toward rubato or dynamic exaggeration should be restrained. Paradoxically, playing semplice is one of the most difficult expressive challenges, requiring the performer to be genuinely vulnerable rather than hiding behind technical display or interpretive mannerism.
Chopin frequently wrote semplice over his most emotionally direct passages, trusting the simplicity of the melodic line to communicate without ornamental assistance.