MADRIGAL • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Madrigal

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noun

Madrigal n.

A little amorous poem, sometimes called a pastoral poem, containing some tender and delicate, though simple, thought. "Whose artful strains have oft delayed The huddling brook to hear his madrigal."

(Mus.) An unaccompanied polyphonic song, in four, five, or more parts, set to secular words, but full of counterpoint and imitation, and adhering to the old church modes. Unlike the freer glee, it is best sung with several voices on a part. See Glee.

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Etymology of 'Madrigal'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Madrigal" Quotes from Famous Books

... now on the marble balustrade, he was thinking of these words of hers. Donna Maria was no longer in the loggia, the awning concealed the whole space between the pillars. Perhaps she would soon be down—should he write the madrigal he had promised her? But even the slight effort necessary for writing the lines thus in hot haste seemed intolerable to him here in the wide and opulent garden, blossoming under the September sunshine in a sort of magical Spring. Why disturb these rare and delicious emotions ...

— The Child of Pleasure • Gabriele D'Annunzio

... we give thee greeting! Whither, whither art thou fleeting? Fickle moment, prithee stay! What though mortal joys be hollow? Pleasures come, if sorrows follow: Though the tocsin sound, ere long, Ding dong! Ding dong! Yet until the shadows fall Over one and over all, Sing a merry madrigal— ...

— The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan - The 14 Gilbert And Sullivan Plays • William Schwenk Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan

Words linked to "Madrigal" : madrigalist, partsong, music