galant

British  

/ ɡəˈlɑːnt /

noun

1. an 18th-century style of music characterized by homophony and elaborate ornamentation

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Etymology

Origin of galant

C17: from Old French galant, from galer to make merry, from gale enjoyment, pleasure

Example Sentences

Otto Klemperer and the Philharmonia probably make these galant symphonies sound weightier than Mozart intended, but theirs is an impeccable performance: every strand of melody is spun out and polished to a high luster.

From Time Magazine Archive

One of the text-books employed appears to have been that of Türk, who makes use of the term "galant" to designate the free as opposed to the strict style of composition.

From Beethoven: A Memoir (2nd Ed.) by Graeme, Elliott

"Monsieur Pendennis has disproved my words himself," said Alcide, with great politeness; "he has shown that he is a galant homme."

From A History of Pendennis, Volume 1 His fortunes and misfortunes, his friends and his greatest enemy by Thackeray, William Makepeace

He is very galant, and professes great satisfaction in his fortune, for he had not even seen her picture.

From Letters of Horace Walpole — Volume I by Walpole, Horace

As such he would have suited the people of England; but it was un vert galant like Henri IV., or royalty incarnate, like Louis XIV., who would have fired the imagination of the French people.

From France in the Nineteenth Century by Latimer, Elizabeth