Madrigal

Listen to a Madrigal

A secular vocal work for 4 to 6 voices, sung a cappella, essentially polyphonic in texture, light in character and employs "word painting". The madrigal is the most important secular genre to emerge during the Renaissance. It is in the madrigal that the Renaissance desire to make music more "expressive" is most clearly observed. In "word painting" the composers sought to musically illustrate the meaning of their texts.