cori spezzati

The Gabrieli's, uncle Andrea and nephew Giovanni, are usually credited with the invention of music for double-choir. Although the did inherent the idea from Willaert, they were the ones to perfect this genre indeed.

When two or more groups of singers sing in alternation, the style of music can also be called polychoral. Specifically, this term is usually applied to music of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods.

Josquin is widely considered by music scholars to be the first master of the high Renaissance style of polyphonic vocal music that was emerging during his lifetime.

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525-1594) is perhaps the best known of the great composers of polyphonic sacred music for the counter-Reformation Catholic Church.

“Call and response,” “responsive,” or “responsorial” is a singing performance style in which a solo singer (leader) and a group of singers (congregation, choir) sing alternately, in response to each other. It is one of the oldest musical forms and common to many peoples, cultures, and religions.

PAH-lee-kor-ul. [English] A performance style developed in the late 16th century involving the use of two or more choirs that answer each other as well as sing as a single ensemble. Also called antiphonal.

polyphony, in music, the simultaneous combination of two or more tones or melodic lines (the term derives from the Greek word for “many sounds”).

Polyphony is a musical texture that features two or more equally prominent melodic lines played at the same time. Each of these lines can be thought of as a melody in its own right -- one that could be sung, played, or listened to independently of the others.

polyphony, in music, the simultaneous combination of two or more tones or melodic lines (the term derives from the Greek word for “many sounds”). Thus, even a single interval made up of two simultaneous tones or a chord of three simultaneous tones is rudimentarily polyphonic.

Pérotin, Latin Perotinus, (died 1238?, Paris?, France), French composer of sacred polyphonic music, who is believed to have introduced the composition of polyphony in four parts into Western music.

In responsorial singing, the soloist (or choir) sings a series of verses, each one followed by a response from the choir (or congregation). In antiphonal singing, the verses are sung alternately by soloist and choir, or by choir and congregation.

Responsorial chants - Chants sung by alternating soloist and choir. Direct chants - Chants sung without alternation.