part-song
Voices singing together
A part-song is a choral composition for three or more voices, typically unaccompanied, with each voice singing a distinct melodic line.
Unlike rounds or canons, the parts are different from one another and meant to be sung simultaneously: The choir rehearsed a Victorian part-song.
The form flourished in nineteenth-century England as popular amateur entertainment.
Unaccompanied Renaissance choral composition
- gleeExuberant, often impish delight
- catchSeize or snag
- roundCurved like circle
- canonAccepted authoritative works
anthem · motet · carol · chanson · lied · roundelay · villanelle · frottola
Simultaneous independent melodies
- imitationCopy of the original
- canonAccepted authoritative works
- fugueContrapuntal musical form
- contrapuntalInterlocking independent melodies
voices · interweaving · melodic lines · round · texture · independent · complexity · canonic
Ensemble of four
octet · small group · chamber · singers · vocal ensemble · consort · close harmony · barbershop
Highest female voice range
- altoLower female voice
- tenorEssential meaning or import
- bassDeep pitch or fish
- baritoneMid-range male voice
mezzo-soprano · contralto · countertenor · treble · voice · unison · blend · balance
Britain's native tongue
- VictorianOf a prim era
- ElizabethanOf late 1500s England
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
- secularNonreligious, worldly
sacred · convivial · festive · sentimental · pastoral · folk-inspired · parlour · domestic
Same-sounding different words
- chordNotes sounded simultaneously
- consonanceHarmonious sound combination
- thirdsOne of three parts
- sixthsFractions between fifths, sevenths
harmonize · voicing · progression · cadence · resolution · tonality · texture · blend
madrigal
Unaccompanied Renaissance choral composition
canon · anthem · motet · carol · chanson · lied · roundelay · villanelle · frottola · fa-la
counterpoint
Simultaneous independent melodies
contrapuntal · voices · interweaving · melodic lines · round · texture · independent · complexity · canonic
quartet
Ensemble of four
sextet · octet · small group · chamber · singers · vocal ensemble · consort · close harmony · barbershop
soprano
Highest female voice range
baritone · mezzo-soprano · contralto · countertenor · treble · voice · unison · blend · balance · section
English
Britain's native tongue
- VictorianOf a prim era
- ElizabethanOf late 1500s England
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
secular · sacred · convivial · festive · sentimental · pastoral · folk-inspired · parlour · domestic · amateur
homophony
Same-sounding different words
- chordNotes sounded simultaneously
- consonanceHarmonious sound combination
- thirdsOne of three parts
sixths · harmonize · voicing · progression · cadence · resolution · tonality · texture · blend · vertical