Renaissance Music (1400-1600)

Renaissance secular vocal music was written for groups of solo voices and/or for solo voice with instrumental accompaniment.

We can find lots of vocal pieces for several voices set to a short poem, usually about love. This songs are written in vernacular and they are called madrigal (in Italy), chanson (in France) and villancico (in Spain)

 

Juan del Encina was a leading composer of villancicos and "Hoy comamos y bebamos" is one of his best known ones.