Edition Zefiro

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Dance forms do not stand still. Read the notes on this “Ballo” for instance. In the interests of clarity and simplicity we try to use these terms basically so as to assist you in finding what it is you are after.

Dance forms

  • Pavane
    A slow dance piece that was originally really danced to, that later became a purely musical form of slow music. We are not making a distinction between these two kinds of pavane.
  • Galliarde
    The most important triple-time dance of the 16th century. Like the pavan, with which it is often paired, it changed over the years from a simple dance piece to a more expressive and more 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, the people of the Pays de Gap region of Dauphiné in the southeast of France, where the dance originated.
  • Courante
    Courante literally means “running”, and in the later Renaissance the courante was danced with fast running and jumping steps, as described by Thoinot Arbeau. In Der vollkommene Capellmeister (Hamburg, 1739) it is described as being characterised by sweet expectation, something heartfelt, longing and gratifying.
  • Branle
    The name branle derives from the French verb branler, meaning to shake, wave, sway, wag or wobble, referring to the side-to-side movement of a circle or chain of dancers holding hands or linking arms.
  • Ballo
    A number of 15th century treatises divide their dances into two types, the bassadanza and the ballo. The bassadanza is a slow dignified dance without leaps or hops, while the ballo was a livelier dance often containing pantomimic elements.
  • All Dance Music
    Here is a page which carries all the dance forms listed above plus a generic “Dance” list which may include a few borderline pieces. A good example is Ballo, a 5-part vocal piece in 3 dance movements with an optional supplementary instrumental part which can also be played as a solo plus continuo.

The majority of these forms are instrumental but towards the end of the list, after the line, they are more ambiguous, subject to interpretation, 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, evolving from French chansons.
  • Canon ↣
    A contrapuntal technique using one or more imitations of a melody after a given duration. Repeating canons in which all voices are musically identical are called rounds.
  • Canzonetta ↣
    A light strophic Italian song, popular in the late 16th century.
  • Carmen ↣
    A 15th- or early 16th-century piece without text in the source, possibly not originally intended for instruments, but treated as instrumental.
  • Ciaconna ↣
    The first pieces called this are based on the bass pattern used in Monteverdi’s Zefiro torna, or a very similar one used by Merula and Cazzati.
  • Concerto ↣
    An instrumental work that normally features one or more solo instruments. In the Baroque period it also had a distinct recurring structure.
  • Divisions ↣
    Usually a highly decorated version of a standard. In the 17th century, often a series of variations over a ground bass.
  • Fantasia ↣
    An instrumental piece normally free of any cantus firmus. Renaissance fantasias are often like instrumental motets with imitative sections.
  • Frottola ↣
    A form of strophic song popular in Italy around 1500, usually with a texted melody in the top part and 3 accompanying parts.
  • Intrada ↣
    A kind of instrumental piece popular around 1600, especially in Germany, often public in character and usually in 5 or 6 parts.
  • Jazz ↣
    For our purposes the term jazz spans from about 1920 to the present day.
  • Ricercar ↣
    A free exploratory instrumental piece, often similar to a fantasia.

S to T

  • Salon ↣
    Salon music was a popular genre in Europe during the 19th century, usually written in the romantic style and often performed at salons.
  • Sonata ↣
    The first pieces called sonatas were solemn slow pieces intended for church performance, later becoming increasingly elaborate in the 17th century.
  • Standard ↣
    A setting of a well-known piece or melody that was repeatedly recomposed by different musicians.
  • Suite ↣
    In the Baroque period, normally a group of stylised dances, often thematically related.
  • Toccata ↣
    Normally an improvisatory piece for solo keyboard.

The following forms are vocal in origin but were also adopted by instrumentalists. As such they are quite challenging for the amateur librarian.

  • Madrigal ↣
    A through-composed setting of an Italian text, usually serious or passionate in character.
  • Motet ↣
    Normally a setting of a sacred text that is not a mass movement.
  • Tenorlied ↣
    A German strophic song of the early 16th century with the main melody in the tenor.
  • Chanson ↣
    A setting of a secular French text, including both fixed forms and more varied 16th-century chansons.
  • Hymn ↣
    A setting of a liturgical melody, either plainsong or Lutheran chorale.
  • Villancico ↣
    The main form of Spanish music, usually with two distinct repeated sections.
  • Villanella ↣
    A late 16th-century light form, often comic and inspired by popular culture.
  • Villanesca ↣
    A late 16th-century light form, often comic and inspired by popular culture.
  • Villotta ↣
    A kind of popular song found in Italy from the end of the 15th century until the 1550s.

Song forms

  • Madrigal ↣
    A through-composed setting of an Italian text, usually of a serious or passionate character.
  • Motet ↣
    Normally a setting of a sacred text that is not a mass movement.
  • Tenorlied ↣
    A German strophic song of the early 16th century which has the main melody in the tenor.
  • Chanson ↣
    A setting of a secular French text.
  • Hymn ↣
    A setting of a liturgical melody either plainsong or Lutheran chorale.
  • Villancico ↣
    The main form of Spanish music, usually with two distinct sections repeated.
  • Villanella ↣
    A late 16th-century light form, often comic.
  • Villanesca ↣
    A late 16th-century light form, often comic.
  • Villotta ↣
    A kind of popular song found in Italy from the end of the 15th century until the 1550s.
  • Standard ↣
    A setting of a well-known piece or melody that was repeatedly recomposed by different musicians.

Vocal categories

S = soprano, A = alto, T = tenor, B = bass, as in SATB. Cb = contrabass, frequently with reference to recorders. The word choir here equates with group. You can have an instrumental choir as well as a vocal choir.