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
Mr. Gardiner said both the madrigals and operas still speak directly to audiences more than four centuries later thanks to an emotional range that was unparalleled at the time.
From New York Times ● Jul. 24, 2017
Nor was it just in his madrigals that Monteverdi started shifting chords around for the sheer surprise and delight of it.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
