A song or air for one or more voices, of Provençal origin, resembling, though not strictly, the madrigal.
An instrumental piece in the madrigal style.
(con-ZONE-eh) A short lyrical operatic song; outside the dramatic situation, reflecting the singer’s state of mind rather than the action. Cherubino’s voi che sapete in the Marriage of Figaro is an example of a canzone.
(it.) - A song or folk song. [back
A medieval Italian lyric poem, with five or six stanzas and a shorter concluding stanza (or envoy). The poets Petrarch and Dante Alighieri were masters of the canzone.
(con-ZONE-eh) A short, lyrical operatic song; the term itself may have originated in Provence and could have referred to arias which have no narrative quality at all, but simply reflect the singer's state of mind. Cherubino's "Voi che sapete" in The MARRIAGE OF FIGARO is an example of a "canzone."
The canzone uses repeating end words. The form consists of five 12-line stanzas and a six-line envoi. There are variations to how the end words repeat in this form. A polyphonic song evolving from this form of poetry and resembling the madrigal in style.
Literally "song" in Italian, a canzone (plural: canzoni) (cognate with English to chant) is an Italian or Provençal song or ballad. It is also used to describe a type of lyric which resembles a madrigal. Sometimes a composition which is simple and songlike is designated as a canzone, especially if it is by a non-Italian; a good example is the aria "Voi che sapete" from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro.