En élargissant

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff where the broadening begins, sometimes intensified (en élargissant beaucoup); it is gradual and usually coincides with a crescendo or a phrase-end. It lasts until a tempo word — 1er Mouvt, au Mouvt, a tempo — restores the pace.

Also spelled: en elargissant

How Composers Use It

The French allargando: slowing while growing broader in tone, so the music gains weight rather than simply losing speed. It suits climaxes and cadences and is often combined with a crescendo. Choose it over en retenant when the passage should feel grand rather than hesitant, and keep it short; a long broadening loses momentum.

Example

Ravel, Pavane pour une infante défunte, piano, m. 11: “En élargissant”, the bar after “un peu retenu”, with the first tempo restored in the next bar.

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