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Glite Dictionary
🎼 A slow piece 🎼 Slightly slow tempo
adagietto

adagietto

9.9
A musical movement played slightly faster than adagio and slower than andante
  • noun
  • /ˌɑːdəˈdʒɛtoʊ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : adagietto
  • The composer chose to include an adagietto in the suite, adding a delicate pace to the piece.
  • Adagietto from Mahler

Examples

  • ("Adagietto" by Gustav Mahler playing)

    Maestro (2023)

  • So when he played the "adagietto" at Robert Kennedy's funeral, it ran for 12 minutes.

    TÁR (2022)

  • See the sharp sweeps of his arms, his expressive hands, as he exhorts the fourth-movement climax of Beethoven's Ninth or the soft deliberations of these same arms, hands, throughout the adagietto from Mahler's Fifth.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The adagietto from Mahler's Fifth Symphony beautifully captures a sense of longing.

  • During the concert, the orchestra performed the adagietto, which created a serene atmosphere.

How Fast

allegro
  • Specialized
3 8.0
andante
  • Specialized
1 8.2
adagietto
  • Specialized
9.9
adagio
  • Specialized
8.2
largo
  • Specialized
8.4

Surface Forms

adagietto singular
adagietti plural

Morphology

adagietto = adagio (semi-transparent) = adagio + etto

A diminutive formation from 'adagio' giving the sense 'a short/little adagio', which is somewhat inferable for those familiar with musical terms but relies on Italian morphology.

Etymology

Adagietto comes from Italian as a small form of adagio, with the ending -etto meaning 'little', like the English '-ette' in 'kitchenette'. So an adagietto is a 'little slow' movement or passage and is a bit faster than adagio while still gentle.