early music

noun

music of the medieval, Renaissance, and early Baroque periods, especially revived and played on period instruments; European music after ancient music and before the classical music era, from the beginning of the Middle Ages to about 1750.

Nearby words

early christian, early closing, early english, early hebrew, early modern english, early music, early on, early purple orchid, early renaissance, early saxifrage, early sunday morning

Related forms

ear·ly-mu·sic, adjectiveearly musician, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for early music

early music

noun

music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, sometimes also including music of the baroque and early classical periods

adjective early-music

of or denoting an approach to musical performance emphasizing the use of period instruments and historically researched scores and playing techniquesthe early-music movement

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012