SECULAR MUSIC IN THE RENAISSANCE

During the Renaissance, secular vocal music became increasingly popular; throughout Europe. Renaissance secular music was written for groups of solo voices and for solo voice with instrumental accompaniment. Word painting was common, and secular music had more rapid changes of mood than sacred music. An important form of vocal music was the madrigal, a piece for several solo voices set to a short poem, usually about love. It has homophonic and polyphonic textures, but more often uses word painting and unusal harmonies.

THE RENAISSANCE MADRIGAL:

As Vesta Was Descending (1601), by Thomas Weelkes