Edition Zefiro

Early music scores for sale online

An Experiment

How these search pages are organised is as simple as 1, 2, 3

Each piece is tagged according to composer, floruit, country, era, choirs, form and voices.

1. Structure

Form, number of choirs, structure of choirs, number of voices and so on. You are here ↣

2. Composers

Nationality, era, floruit and composers. Search composers ↣

3. Special searches

Special pages collate pieces according to context, such as continuo, strings (as in the violin family), solo music and dance.

The continuo page: (try it ↣)
The strings page: (try it ↣)
The solo page: (try it ↣)
The collections page: (try it ↣)

These collections correspond to the various series that make up the stock of Edition Zefiro. For example, “Early Keyboard Collection”, “Venetian Music of the 1600s” and the essential “Music for Crumhorns” are just three of many. Some of these collections are sold as complete collections, otherwise known as the 999 series.

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Form (dance)

Dance forms do not stand still. Read the notes on “Ballo”, for instance. In the interests of clarity and simplicity, we use these terms in a basic way to help you find what you are looking for.

Pavane
A slow dance piece that was originally danced, but later became a purely musical form of slow music. We do not make a distinction here between these two kinds of pavane.
Galliarde
The most important triple-time dance of the 16th century. Like the pavane, with which it is often paired, it changed over the years from a simple dance piece into a more expressive and complex kind of music.
Gavotte
The gavotte, also gavot, gavote or gavotta, is a French dance taking its name from a folk dance of the Gavot people of the Pays de Gap region of Dauphiné in south-eastern France, where the dance originated. The term gavotte for a lively dance dates from the 1690s and derives from Old Provençal gavoto (“mountaineer’s dance”), from gavot, a local name for an Alpine resident.
Courante
Courante literally means “running”, and in the later Renaissance it was danced with fast running and jumping steps, as described by Thoinot Arbeau. The courante in Der vollkommene Capellmeister (Hamburg, 1739) is described as being “chiefly characterised by the passion or mood of sweet expectation. For there is something heartfelt, something longing and also gratifying…”
Branle
The name branle derives from the French verb branler (“to shake, wave, sway, wag, wobble”), referring to the side-to-side movement of a circle or chain of dancers holding hands or linking arms. Dances of this name are found from about 1500 onwards, and the term is still used for dances performed in France today. Before this, the word appears in dance only as the “swaying” step of the basse danse.
Ballo
A number of 15th-century treatises divide dances into two types, the bassadanza and the ballo, possibly related to the earlier simple dance forms of Boccaccio’s time. The bassadanza, allied to the similar French basse danse, is a slow, dignified dance without leaps or hops, while the ballo was a livelier dance often containing pantomimic elements.
All Dance Music
This page includes all the dance forms listed above, plus a more general “Dance” list, which may include a few borderline pieces. A good example is Ballo, a 5-part vocal piece in three dance movements with an ingenious optional supplementary instrumental part, which can also be played as a solo with continuo.

Form (structure)

Most of these forms are instrumental, but towards the end of the list they become more ambiguous and open to interpretation, often suiting combinations of voices and instruments.

B to R

Ballade ↣
One of the fixed forms of the 15th century, usually with an AAB structure.
Ballata ↣
An Italian song with a fixed structure used in the 14th and 15th centuries, similar to the French virelai.
Canzone ↣
Canzone da sonar: an instrumental form popular in Italy from around 1580 to about 1620. It evolved from the French chanson, as found in composers such as Clemens non Papa and Thomas Crecquillon. The mood was usually lively. The first composers to write canzoni were Claudio Merulo and Fiorenzo Maschera.
Canon ↣
In music, a canon is a contrapuntal compositional technique in which a melody is imitated by one or more voices after a certain duration. The initial melody is called the leader, while the imitative melody is called the follower. The follower may replicate the leader exactly or transform it. Repeating canons in which all voices are musically identical are called rounds. Sumer Is Icumen In is a famous example.
Canzonetta ↣
A light strophic type of Italian song, popular in the late 16th century, cultivated particularly by Orazio Vecchi of Modena. From about 1600, English composers produced canzonets in imitation of the Italian models.
Carmen ↣
A 15th- or early 16th-century piece without text in the source, which may not originally have been intended for instruments, but which came to be treated as an instrumental piece.
Ciaconna ↣
The earliest pieces given this name are based on the bass pattern used in Monteverdi’s Zefiro torna, or the similar one used by Merula and Cazzati.
Concerto ↣
An instrumental work that normally features one or more solo instruments. In the Baroque period the concerto also developed a distinct structure, in which the opening section reappears at intervals during the work, often in different keys.
Divisions ↣
Usually a highly decorated version of a standard, such as Susanne un jour. In the 17th century the term more often refers to a series of variations over a ground bass.
Fantasia ↣
An instrumental piece normally free of any cantus firmus. If a fantasia is based on a given tune, it is usually integrated into all the parts. Renaissance fantasias are often like instrumental motets, with different sections treating themes in imitation.
Frottola ↣
A form of strophic song popular in Italy around 1500. Most frottole have a texted melody in the top part, with three accompanying parts for instruments. The two main composers of this form were Bartolomeo Tromboncino and Marchetto Cara.
Intrada ↣
A kind of instrumental piece popular around 1600, especially in Germany. The earliest intradas, such as those by Alexander Orologio, a cornetto player in Dresden, seem to have been intended for wind instruments, though later examples may have favoured violins. Intradas tended to have a public rather than a domestic character. Most are in 5 or 6 parts.
Jazz ↣
For our purposes, the term jazz spans the period from about 1920 to the present day.
Ricercar ↣
A free-form, exploratory instrumental piece, often similar to a fantasia. The distinction between ricercar and fantasia is rather obscure. The name is connected with exploring the tuning and possibilities of one’s instrument. Some ricercars are for solo instrument, like those of Bassano and Virgiliano.

S to T

Salon ↣
Salon music was a popular genre in 19th-century Europe. It was usually written in the Romantic style and often performed by the composer at gatherings known as salons.
Sonata ↣
The earliest pieces called “sonata” were rather solemn, slow works, less lively than the canzone da sonar, and intended for performance in churches. They became increasingly elaborate in the 17th century and gradually displaced the canzone da sonar as the principal instrumental form.
Standard ↣
A setting of a well-known piece or melody that was repeatedly recomposed by different musicians. The great standards of the 15th century included J’ay pris amours, De tous biens playne and Fors seulement. In the 16th century they included Susanne un jour, Ancor che col partire and Frais (Frisque) et gaillard.
Suite ↣
In the Baroque period, usually a group of stylised dances, often thematically related. The earliest suites were published by German composers in the 1610s and normally begin with a pavane. Late Baroque suites tend to begin with a prelude.
Toccata ↣
Normally an improvisatory piece for solo keyboard. Some early toccatas can be slow and harmonically expressive, but late Baroque toccatas are usually virtuosic.

The following forms are vocal in origin but were also adopted by instrumentalists. As such they can present a challenge to the amateur librarian.

Madrigal ↣
A through-composed setting of an Italian text, usually of a serious or passionate character. Before the madrigal appeared, most Italian songs were strophic, with the same music repeated for successive verses. In England, Italian madrigals became popular around 1590, and local composers soon began writing their own madrigals to English texts.
Motet ↣
Normally a setting of a sacred text that is not part of the Mass.
Tenorlied ↣
A German strophic song of the early 16th century in which the principal melody lies in the tenor. The greatest composer of these songs was Ludwig Senfl.
Chanson ↣
A setting of a secular French text. We use the term to include the fixed forms of the 15th century, such as rondeau, ballade and virelai, as well as the more informal and varied chansons of the 16th century.
Hymn ↣
A setting of a liturgical melody, whether plainsong or Lutheran chorale. These range from simple settings in 3 or 4 parts to extended polychoral works.
Villancico ↣
The principal form of Spanish music, usually with two distinct repeated sections.
Villanella ↣
A light form of the late 16th century, often comic and inspired by popular culture. The distinction between a canzone villanesca and a villanella is not entirely clear. Some villanesche use dialect, particularly Neapolitan.
Villanesca ↣
A light form of the late 16th century, often comic and inspired by popular culture. The distinction between a canzone villanesca and a villanella is not entirely clear. Some villanesche use dialect, particularly Neapolitan.
Villotta ↣
A kind of popular song found in Italy from the end of the 15th century until the 1550s. The texts are simple, and so usually is the music. One of the best-known villotte is Azzaiolo’s Chi passa per sta strada, later arranged by William Byrd.

Form (song)

Madrigal ↣
A through-composed setting of an Italian text, usually of a serious or passionate character. Before the madrigal appeared, most Italian songs were strophic, with the same music repeated for successive verses. In England, Italian madrigals became popular around 1590, and local composers soon began writing their own madrigals to English texts.
Motet ↣
Normally a setting of a sacred text that is not part of the Mass.
Tenorlied ↣
A German strophic song of the early 16th century in which the principal melody lies in the tenor. The greatest composer of these songs was Ludwig Senfl.
Chanson ↣
A setting of a secular French text. We use the term to include the fixed forms of the 15th century, such as rondeau, ballade and virelai, as well as the more informal and varied chansons of the 16th century.
Hymn ↣
A setting of a liturgical melody, whether plainsong or Lutheran chorale. These range from simple settings in 3 or 4 parts to extended polychoral works.
Villancico ↣
The principal form of Spanish music, usually with two distinct repeated sections.
Villanella ↣
A light form of the late 16th century, often comic and inspired by popular culture. The distinction between a canzone villanesca and a villanella is not entirely clear. Some villanesche use dialect, particularly Neapolitan.
Villanesca ↣
A light form of the late 16th century, often comic and inspired by popular culture. The distinction between a canzone villanesca and a villanella is not entirely clear. Some villanesche use dialect, particularly Neapolitan.
Villotta ↣
A kind of popular song found in Italy from the end of the 15th century until the 1550s. The texts are simple, and so usually is the music. One of the best-known villotte is Azzaiolo’s Chi passa per sta strada, later arranged by William Byrd.
Standard ↣
A setting of a well-known piece or melody that was repeatedly recomposed by different musicians. The great standards of the 15th century included J’ay pris amours, De tous biens playne and Fors seulement. In the 16th century they included Susanne un jour, Ancor che col partire and Frais (Frisque) et gaillard.
All vocal music ↣
Some vocal music can also be played instrumentally, which makes this classification less obvious than it may seem.
English song ↣
We use this term for settings of English texts that are not madrigals or canzonets. It therefore includes songs from the 15th century, as well as many songs by William Byrd that are not madrigals.
German song ↣
A setting of a strophic German text. We use this term for songs that are not Tenorlieder, such as songs by Hassler or Lassus.
Dutch song ↣
From 1570 onwards.
Scottish song ↣
Pending.

Number of parts

Voicing (single choir)

Explanation: S = soprano, A = alto, T = tenor, B = bass, as in SATB. Cb = contrabass, often used in recorder consorts. TTBCb, for example. Here the word “choir” means “group”. A choir may be vocal or instrumental.

Voicing (multi-choir)

Explanation: SATB + ATTB, for example. Following the explanation above for single choirs, these combinations extend the same rules to pieces written for two or more choirs. The permutations multiply rapidly. Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, famously, wrote for a great variety of such combinations. Some searches may produce only a single result, but it may still be exactly what you need.

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