Largo

What it means

Largo means “broad, wide” in Italian and designates a very slow tempo. The word thereby says more about space than about speed: what is meant is music in which every note has room and the phrases are spanned widely. As a guideline, about 40 to 60 beats per minute are often given; the figures vary considerably depending on edition and period.

Within the framework of the slow tempo words, largo counts as one of the slowest. Compared with adagio it is broader and weightier, compared with lento more strongly oriented toward breadth, compared with grave less fixed on heaviness and gravity. Larghetto is the softened form, larghissimo the intensified one. As with all tempo words, a character is implied along with it: solemn, calm, often song-like.

In the notation

The marking stands above the first staff of a movement or section and as a rule becomes the movement's name. Additions such as e sostenuto, maestoso, or cantabile refine the character. Typical for movements headed this way are long note values in the melody and small values in the accompaniment, which fill the space between the beats.

Musical use

Largo heads slow movements in sonata, concerto, and symphony, especially in the Baroque and the Viennese Classical period, and there often stands for the most expressive part of the work. It is also common as an introduction before a fast movement and in vocal music with a solemn text. In orchestral music it often serves to unfold a broad melody over a calmly striding bass.

Performance practice

Count in subdivisions, otherwise you lose the pulse between the beats; the small values of the accompaniment are your measure here. Plan breath and bow distribution beforehand, for at slow tempos both run out faster than expected. Let the notes sound for their full duration and connect them into long lines. And keep the tempo stable: breadth arises from the even pulse, not from additional holding back.