In similarity to its cousin the fugue, the Canon is a form of musical counterpoint. Where the fugue has voices which follow the melody returning to it, the canon has overlapping voices of repetition or imitation. The simplest type of canon is a...
The chorale is a German-Protestant hymn. In efforts to coerce the congregation into more participation, musician, composer, and religious reformer Martin Luther wrote the first known chorales in the early 16th century.
Divertimento originates from the Italian word for "diversion." It was a light versatile composition primary used for entertaining special guests or visiting dignitaries. The divertimento might be written in three, five, or up to...
The origin of the oratorio is Italian, based on the Latin oratorium oratory. Another of the large scale musical forms, the oratorio stems from the music composed during the 16th century for the Church of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri...
