Largo (music)

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Largo ( Italian for "broad") is a musical performance designation . As tempo marking is Largo documented since the early 17th century. Giulio Caccini speaks of a misura piu larga (1601), G. Frescobaldi of a tempo largo (1615). Since the middle of the 17th century, Largo has been the typical tempo regulation of the quiet 3/4 or 3/4 time, especially the saraband rhythm ( A. Corelli ), which must not be stretched, because with the Largo regulationIn the 17th and early 18th centuries, this does not mean a very slow tempo, but a slight modification of the mean time measure ( tempo ordinario ).

The tempo difference between Largo and Adagio was not subject to any fixed norm until the end of the 18th century. Brossard (1703) and G. Walther (1732) define the largo as a very slow measure of time (fort lentement) and as a stretched, double adagio (adagio adagio). More essential than the difference in tempo, however, seems to have been the difference between the heavier performance of the Largo and the more cautious performance of the Adagio . Otherwise it would be absurd for Handel to prescribe Largo ma non adagio (Anthem In the Lord put I my trust , Complete Edition XXXIV), Antonio Vivaldi Largo ma piu toste andante ( Pincherle No. 211). In Haydn's 88th Symphony , too , the Largo requirement calls for more emphatic accentuation than a very slow measure of time. Mozart uses the term Largo primarily for rhythmically pointed slow introductions. In Beethoven , who calls introductions a grave , the largo appears as a weighted adagio . Additions such as appassionato (op. 2), con gran espressione (op. 7) or mesto (op. 10) testify to the pathos that Beethoven associates with the concept of largo .

Largo assai and Largo molto mean "very broad". The superlative Larghissimo (“very broad”) can be traced back to the 17th century ( A. Scarlatti , Clearco in Negroponte, 1686), but is rarely used. The diminutive larghetto (“somewhat broad”) is often found and, in contrast to the weighty largo, denotes a lighter, more flowing presentation that sometimes approaches the andante .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wieland Ziegenrücker: General music theory with questions and tasks for self-control. German Publishing House for Music, Leipzig 1977; Paperback edition: Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag, and Musikverlag B. Schott's Söhne, Mainz 1979, ISBN 3-442-33003-3 , p. 55.