Caccini, Le Nuove musiche, 1601, title page

In poetry, the term monody has become specialized to refer to a poem in which one person laments another's death. (In the context of ancient Greek literature, monody, μονῳδία could simply refer to lyric poetry sung by a single performer, rather than by a chorus.) caccini-le nuove musiche This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... caccini-le nuove musiche This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... The Chinese poem Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty) // Poetry (from the Greek , poiesis, making or creating) is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. ... Ancient Greek literature refers to literature written in the Greek language until the 4th century AD. // This period of Greek literature stretches from Homer until the 4th century and the rise of Alexander the Great. ...

In music, monody is a solo vocal style distinguished by having a single melodic line and instrumental accompaniment. Although such music is found in various cultures throughout history, the term is generally applied to Italian song of the early 17th century. It is contrasted with polyphony, in which each part is equally important, and homophony, in which the accompaniment is not rhythmically independent. The term is used both for the style and for individual songs (so one can speak both of monody as a whole as well as a particular monody). The term itself is a recent invention of scholars: no composer of the 17th century ever called a piece a monody. Compositions in monodic form might be called madrigals, motets, or even concertos (in the earlier sense of "concertato", meaning "with instruments"). Look up melody in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... Polyphony is a musical texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice (monophony) or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony). ... Homophony is a musical term that describes the texture of two or more instruments or parts moving together and using the same rhythm. ... A madrigal is a setting for 3–6 voices of a secular text, often in Italian. ... In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions. ... The term concerto (plural is concerti or concertos) usually refers to a musical work in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra. ... Concertato (sometimes called stile concertato) is a term in early Baroque music referring to either a genre or a style of music in which groups of instruments or voices share a melody, usually in alternation, and almost always over a basso continuo. ...

In monody, which developed out of an attempt by the Florentine Camerata in the 1580s to restore ancient Greek ideas of melody and declamation (probably with little historical accuracy), one solo voice sings a melodic part, usually with considerable ornamentation, over a rhythmically independent bass line. Accompanying instruments could be lute, chitarrone, theorbo, harpsichord, organ, and even on occasion guitar. While some monodies were arrangements for smaller forces of the music for large ensembles which was common at the end of the 16th century, especially in the Venetian School, most monodies were composed independently. The development of monody was one of the defining characteristics of early Baroque practice, as opposed to late Renaissance style, in which groups of voices sang independently and with a greater balance between parts. The Florentine Camerata was a group of humanists, musicians, poets and intellectuals in late Renaissance Florence who gathered under the patronage of Count Giovanni de Bardi to discuss and guide trends in the arts, especially music and drama. ... Events and Trends The beginnings of the Golden Age of Literature in England Sir Humphrey Gilbert claims Newfoundland as Englands first overseas colony in 1583 Francis Drake had come back from going around the world, bringing back with him many treasures. ... Ancient Greece is a period in Greek history that lasted for around one thousand years and was extinguished by the newly-powerful Christianity. ... In music, ornaments are musical flourishes that are not necessary to the overall melodic (or harmonic) line, but serve to decorate or ornament that line. ... The lute is a plucked string instrument with a fretted neck and a deep round back. ... Modern acoustic bass guitars The acoustic bass guitar (ABG) is a popular modern term to describe an acoustic musical instrument based on the configuration of basses pioneered by Leo Fenders electric precision bass. ... A theorbo is a type of long-necked lute developed during the late-sixteenth century, inspired by the spirited discussions of the Florentine Camerata and new musical works such as Giulio Caccinis Le Nuove Musiche. ... Harpsichord in the Flemish style A harpsichord is any of a family of European keyboard instruments, including the large instrument currently called a harpsichord, but also the smaller virginals, the muselar virginals and the spinet. ... Organ in Katharinenkirche, Frankfurt am Main, Germany Modern style pipe organ at the concert hall of Aletheia University in Matou, Taiwan The organ is a keyboard instrument with one or more manuals, and usually a pedalboard. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... In music history, the Venetian School is a term used to describe the composers working in Venice from about 1550 to around 1610; it also describes the music they produced. ... Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 to 1750 (see Dates of classical music eras for a discussion of the problems inherent in defining the beginning and end points). ... Renaissance music is European classical music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 to 1600. ...

Other musical streams which came together in the monody were the madrigal and the motet, both of which developed into solo forms after 1600 and borrowed ideas from the monody. 1600 was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Contrasting passages in monodies could be more melodic or more declamatory: these two styles of presentation eventually developed into the aria and the recitative, and the overall form merged with the cantata by about 1635. This article is about the musical term aria. ... Recitative, a form of composition often used in operas, oratorios, cantatas and similar works, is described as a melodic speech set to music, or a descriptive narrative song in which the music follows the words. ... A cantata (Italian, sung) is a vocal composition accompanied by instruments and generally containing more than one movement. ... Events February 10 - The Académie française in Paris is expanded to become a national academy for the artistic elite. ...

The parallel development of solo song with accompaniment in France was called the air de cour: the term monody is not normally applied to these more conservative songs, however, which retained many musical characteristics of the Renaissance chanson. The Air de cour was a popular type of secular vocal music in France in the very late Renaissance and early Baroque period, from about 1570 until around 1650. ... Renaissance music is European classical music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 to 1600. ... Chanson is a French word for song, and in English-language contexts is often applied to any song with French words, particularly a cabaret song. ...

An important early treatise on monody is contained in Giulio Caccini's song collection, Le nuove musiche (Florence, 1601). Caccini, Le Nuove musiche, 1601, title page Giulio Caccini (October 8, 1551 – December 10, 1618) was an Italian composer, teacher, singer, instrumentalist and writer of the very late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. ...

Main composers of monody

• Vincenzo Galilei (1520 - 1591)
• Giulio Caccini (c.1545 - 1618)
• Emilio de' Cavalieri (c.1550 - 1602)
• Bartolomeo Barbarino (? - c.1617)
• Jacopo Peri (1561 - 1633)
• Claudio Monteverdi (1567 - 1643)
• Alessandro Grandi (c.1575 - 1630)
• Giovanni Pietro Berti (d. 1638)
• Sigismondo d'India (c.1582 - 1629)
• Claudio Saracini (1586 - c.1649)

See Texture (music) Vincenzo Galilei (1520 – July 2, 1591) was an Italian lutenist, composer, and music theorist, and the father of the famous astronomer Galileo Galilei. ... mary elline m. ... Events June - Capture of Zutphen by the Dutch under Maurice of Nassau. ... Caccini, Le Nuove musiche, 1601, title page Giulio Caccini (October 8, 1551 – December 10, 1618) was an Italian composer, teacher, singer, instrumentalist and writer of the very late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. ... Events February 27 - Battle of Ancrum Moor - Scots victory over superior English forces December 13 - Official opening of the Council of Trent (closed 1563) Battle of Kawagoe - between two branches of Uesugi families and the late Hojo clan in Japan. ... Events March 8 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion (he soon rejects the idea after some initial calculations were made but on May 15 confirms the discovery). ... Emilio de Cavalieri (c. ... Events February 7 - Julius III becomes Pope. ... This page is about the year. ... Bartolomeo Barbarino (known as Il Pesarino) (c. ... Events Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Ahmed I (1603-1617) to Mustafa I (1617-1623). ... Jacopo Peri (August 20, 1561 – August 12, 1633) was an Italian composer and singer, often called the inventor of opera. ... // Events The Edict of Orleans suspends the persecution of the Huguenots. ... Events February 13 - Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for his trial before the Inquisition. ... Portrait of Claudio Monteverdi in Venice, 1640, by Bernardo Strozzi. ... Events The Duke of Alva arrives in the Netherlands with Spanish forces to suppress unrest there. ... // Events January 21 - Abel Tasman discovers Tonga February 6 - Abel Tasman discovers the Fiji islands. ... Alessandro de Grandi Alessandro Grandi (1586 – 1630) was a northern Italian composer of the early Baroque era, writing in the new concertato style. ... Events February 13 - Henry III of France is crowned at Reims February 14 - Henry III of France marries Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont June 28 - Oda Nobunaga defeats Takeda Katsuyori in the battle of Nagashino, which has been called Japans first modern battle. ... Events February 22 - Native American Quadequine introduces Popcorn to English colonists. ... Sigismondo dIndia (c. ... Events January 15 - Russia cedes Livonia and Estonia to Poland February 24 - Pope Gregory XIII implements the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events March 4 - Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter. ... Claudio Saracini (July 1, 1586 – September 20, 1630) was an Italian composer, lutenist and singer of the early Baroque era. ... 1586 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. ... // Events January 30 - King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland is beheaded. ... In music texture is the overall quality of sound of a piece, most often indicated by the number of voices in the music and to the relationship between these voices (see below). ...

References and further reading

• Nigel Fortune, "Monody", in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. ISBN 1-56159-174-2
• Gustave Reese, Music in the Renaissance. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. ISBN 0-393-09530-4
• Manfred Bukofzer, Music in the Baroque Era. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1947. ISBN 0-393-09745-5