[1] The grave tempo is very slow at a pace of approximately 20-40 musical beats per minute.
Earlier uses of the word grave were done as an adjective or descriptor of a work, but were not associated with a tempo marking.
This type of music employed two separate choruses divided by space and singing in alternation.
Other early examples of grave being used as a tempo term include Marco Uccellini's Sonate (1646), and Biagio Marini's Op.
[1] While today the term grave is widely understood to be slower than the tempo terms largo and adagio, music theorists and composers of the 17th and 18th century were not so consistent in their interpretation and use of these terms, with some composers marking scores with grave but with performance descriptions described elsewhere that would indicate a speed more akin to modern tempos for largo or adagio.