Larghetto
Somewhat less broad than Largo.
What it means
Larghetto is the diminutive form of largo. The ending -etto softens the base word: somewhat less broad, somewhat less heavy, a little more flowing. Thus the tempo lies between largo and andante, close to adagio, without a fixed boundary being drawn. Where numbers are given, they usually move in the range of about 60 to 66 beats per minute; depending on the edition this varies.
With the softening of the tempo, a change of character usually goes along. A largo is solemn and expansive, a larghetto rather lyrical and pleasant. This colouring is often the more reliable clue than the tempo level itself, for it shows itself in the notation: smaller note values, lighter accompaniment, more song-like melodic writing.
In the notation
The marking stands above the first staff of a movement or section and often becomes the movement's name. Additions such as cantabile or espressivo are common. Metronome numbers next to it often come from the editor and are to be understood as a guideline.
Musical use
Larghetto heads slow middle movements that are song-like in design and do not claim the full solemnity of a largo. In concertos and symphonies of the Viennese Classical period and the early Romantic era it stands for movements with a song-like theme and a continuous, light accompanying figure. It is also common as a designation for short, self-contained character pieces.
Larghetto is the diminutive form of largo and designates a somewhat less broad, somewhat more flowing tempo. It often stands over slow middle movements of the Baroque period and the Classical era, for instance in Handel and Mozart.
Performance practice
Choose the tempo so that the melody can breathe in long arcs while the accompaniment still flows — a larghetto that is too slow loses its pleasant tone. Count in subdivisions, so that the longer values keep their duration, but shape in phrases, not in beats. Keep the accompaniment quiet and even; it carries the movement. And avoid too much rubato: the charm of these movements lies in their calm evenness.