Mediaeval church music which best describes the Gregorian chants which still survive in the Roman Catholic church. A single unaccompanied vocal line in free rhythm like speech with no regular bar lengths and sung in the ancient modes.
Mass
The main service of the Roman Catholic Church which was frequently set to music. Famous examples from most of the major composers such as Bach, Mozart,Beethoven etc. and from the Renaissance period through to the present day.
Motet
A religious choral composition, usually unaccompanied ( a cappella ) for the Roman Catholic Church in Latin and is the equivalent of the Anthem of the reformed church.
Madrigal
A secular part song from the 16th and 17th centuries which was polyphonic in nature , unaccompanied and usually through composed. English examples by Weelkes, Morley and Gibbons.
A short piece of Church music written for voices for performance in the reformed church with an English text. i.e. not intended for use in the Roman Catholic Church.
Ayre
Sometimes called a Lute Song this was usually a solo song with lute accompaniment.
Chant
Usually music which is sung in accordance with ritual or tradition, e.g. unaccompanied vocal music in Christian services like the Gregorian chant (plainsong). The term is also used in the Anglican church for psalm and canticle singing.
Ballet
A vocal composition similar to the madrigal and popular in Italy and England in the 1600s. It is characterised by a dance like nature, a fa la chorus and is usually in Strophic (verse repeating) form.
Lied
The term applied to German romantic song, particularly by Schubert, Schumann and Brahms in which the piano part had equal importance with the voice part in creating the atmosphere required by the text.
Listen to this example.
A series of songs which collectively tell a story. The most famous examples are from the Romantic period from Schubert and Schumann.
Da Capo Aria
An Aria for solo singer which is in ternary form A|B|A in which the repeated section at the end is not written out in full but marked da capo al fine, indicating a repeat of the first section until the finish mark Fine. This example is where the music changes from section A to B.