Monody

Monody is a kind of music distinguished by having a single melodic line and accompaniment. Although such music is found in various cultures throughout history, the term is generally applied to Italian song of the early 17th century. It is contrasted with polyphony, in which each part is equally important, and homophony, in which the accompaniment is not rhythmically independent. The term is used both for the style and for individual songs (so one can speak both of monody as a whole as well as a particular monody). The term itself is a recent invention of scholars: no composer of the 17th century ever called a piece a monody. Compositions in monodic form might be called madrigals, motets, or even concertos (in the earlier sense of "concertato", meaning "with instruments").

Main composers of monody

• Vincenzo Galilei (1520 - 1591)
• Giulio Caccini (c.1545 - 1618)
• Emilio de' Cavalieri (c.1550 - 1602)
• Bartolomeo Barbarino (? - c.1617)
• Jacopo Peri (1561 - 1633)
• Claudio Monteverdi (1567 - 1643)
• Alessandro Grandi (c.1575 - 1630)
• Giovanni Pietro Berti (d. 1638)
• Sigismondo d'India (c.1582 - 1629)
• Claudio Saracini (1586 - c.1649)

See Texture (music)

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