Early 17th-century secular work for solo voice and continuo, in declamatory style
An important forerunner of opera that grew out of Monteverdi's argument with Artusi over the relationship between text and music. It was comprised of a solo singer who sang in free rhythm (almost like regular speech, only with pitches), accompanied by basso continuo which mostly just played simple chords. The idea was to let the text be easy to understand and have the music play a lesser role in comparison with the words. ( Lesson 8, Page 1) HEAR IT
Solo song with continuo accompaniment, as seen in the works of late 16th century composers, particularly Giulio Caccini.
music consisting of a single vocal part (usually with accompaniment)
a poem in which one person laments another's death, as in Tennyson's Break, Break, Break, or Wordsworth's She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways
a poem similar to a dirge; a Greek poem of mourning sung by one person.
A solo or unison song with accompaniement.
Vocal style established in the Baroque, with a solo singer and instrumental accompaniment.
lyric sung by single actor; 'solo', 'aria'
A Greek ode sung by a single actor and lamenting a person's death. A modern example is Monody on the Death of a Platonist Bank Clerk by John Betjeman.
In poetry, the term monody has become specialized to refer to a poem in which one person laments another's death. (In the context of ancient Greek literature, monody, could simply refer to lyric poetry sung by a single performer, rather than by a chorus.)