MADRIGAL (Fr. madrigal, from It. snadri gale, Olt. mudriale, mundriale, ditty, from it., Lat. mandra, from Gk. imipapa, flock). A short lyrical poem, adapted to the quaint and terse ex pression of some pleasant thought, generally on the subject of Love. Though somewhat varied in form, it usually consists of from six to thirteen short iambic lines constructed upon three rhymes. Among the Italians the best writers of madrigals are Petrarch and Tasso; among the French. Mon treuil, Lainez, and 3Ioncrif; among the Germans, Hagedorn, Voss, Goethe, and Schlegel; and among the English, Lodge, Withers, Carew, and Suckling. The name madrigal is also applied to a form of vocal composition, which during the sixteenth century occupied a position very similar to that of the Kunstlied (art song) of to-day. It was set generally for five voices, but madrigals for three, four, and six voices are also found. The texts were generally of an erotic character. The madrigal differed from the more popular frot tola (q.v.) and villanella (q.v.) in its elaborate contrapuntal workmanship. The form of the madrigal was probably originated by the trouba dours of Provence. Dante's friend Casella is re puted to have been the first notable composer of this form in Italy, where it soon became very popular. But the real father of the madrigal is Adrian Willaert (14S0-1562), who was born in Flanders, but went to Italy and there developed this form from the then existing frottola. As perfected by this master the madrigal soon found its way beyond Italy. In 1533 Arcadelt published a book of madrigals, in tile identical form already established by Willaert. and it created a great
sensation. Indirectly the madrigal helped to de velop the opera, for after the establishment of the 'monodic style' popular madrigals were ar ranged for a solo voice with accompaniment of the lute or some other instrument. In this way the matIrigal became an important factor in the propagation of the new monody. The precursor of the Florentine drumma per musica (see 31oN an') was in fact nothing else than a succes sion of monodic melodies loosely strung together. After the establishment of monody, madrigals gradually fell into disuse. Madrigals were in troduced early into England, but the first English collection, Musica Transalpina, edited by N. Yonge (1588), was made up mainly from transla tions of the Italian. Previously. however, in 1530. a collection of polyphonic songs had been published by Wynkyn de Worde. There are now extant more than a thousand madrigals composed by about a hundred different musicians of the seventeenth century. Among the most distin guished English composers in this form are Wil liam Byid (the earliest), John Wilbye, John Dowland, Thomas Morley, and Orlando Gibbons. In 1741 the Madrigal Society (q.v.) of London was founded. In the eighteenth century the mad rigal was superseded by the glee, which differs from the former in that it is pertormed by solo voices, whereas the madrigal Wax. always per formed by a chorus. Consult Cox, English Madri gals in the Time of Shakespeare (London, 1899).