madrigal
noun
a secular part song without instrumental accompaniment, usually for four to six voices, making abundant use of contrapuntal imitation, popular especially in the 16th and 17th centuries.
madrigals
-
pluralof madrigal.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But a startling number of pieces—symphonies, sonatas, madrigals, sonnets, even ambitious operas—were composed to the highest standards of professional musicianship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
The Middle Ages and Renaissance produced a body of “pestilential music”:motets, madrigals and other compositions responding to the horrific plagues of those times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2020
It opened with a reworking of “Incenerite spoglie,” from Monteverdi’s sixth book of madrigals, set to an intense poem of grief for a dead lover.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 7, 2019
Michelangelo would send drawings, and Sebastiano frequently shared madrigals, poetic vocal arrangements that were sometimes set to music.
From New York Times ● Nov. 5, 2017
Arcadelt’s first book of madrigals was the most widely reprinted songbook in Europe in the second half of the sixteenth century.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
