Trecento Italian Musical Forms

The Madrigal

It was typically a composition for two voices (rarely three), with the upper voices using the same text. The lower voice, the tenor, was often a free invention, and its melodic line, like the upper voices (especially the highest), was highly melodic and often featured lengthy melismas.

Texts were typically idyllic, pastoral, or amatory poems, sometimes satirical. Stanzas usually contained three verses. All stanzas (usually 2 or 3) had the same music. At the end, there were a couple of extra verses called the ritornello, set to different music.

A feature that links the madrigal to the earlier Conductus is the ornamented melismatic passage, which often appears at the end and sometimes at the beginning of a stanza. This form is characteristic of the first generation.

The Caccia

Similar to the French chasse, the caccia often depicted hunting scenes and other turbulent events, sometimes including exclamations. Later, it also included amatory texts.

Generally, the caccia features two upper voices moving in canon (often in unison) that present the text, and a lower instrumental voice, which is calm and free. The lower voice is sometimes absent.

The caccia is bipartite. Its extensive first part is followed by a short refrain, which can also be freely imitative.

The Ballata

This was the main form of the second period. Appearing from around 1365, it was initially for 2 voices, then 3, and also influenced the madrigal.

For 2 voices, the composition is similar to the madrigal, meaning both voices share the same text and are vocally conceived, although a combination of vocal and instrumental accompaniment is possible.

In contrast, compositions for three voices could differ in three types:

• Type I: Two vocal parts (cantus and tenor, typically high male voices) and an instrumental countertenor (lower or middle voice).
• Type II: All three parts are vocal.
• Type III: One vocal part (e.g., the cantus) accompanied by two instrumental voices. This may be an imitation of the French virelai.

Even in Type II, instrumental accompaniment was possible, resulting in a mixed sound.

The form of the ballata is related to the French virelai. A stanza is composed of two sections (piedi) and an epode (volta), framed by a chorus (ripresa).

Generally, each of these parts consists of two rhyming lines. Correspondingly, the ripresa (first section) consists of two melodic arcs (AB), just as the piedi consist of two others (CD). The first piede (second section) leads to a half-cadence (vert), while the second (third section) leads to a full cadence (chiuso). The volta (fourth section) is sung to the same melody as the ripresa. At the end (fifth section), the ripresa is repeated.

The conclusive formula featuring syncopations and a leap to the final third is characteristic of the Trecento and is known as the Landini cadence. Extended melismas on the penultimate syllable of each line were also frequently used.