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counterpoint

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counterpoint

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An example by Bach of double counterpoint. The second system reverses the position of each line.

In music, two or more lines that are arranged so that they fit well together. Even though the combination of the melodies is the main aim, they must make a satisfactory harmony. Another word for this is polyphony. Giovanni Palestrina and Johann Sebastian Bach were masters of counterpoint.

It originated in plainsong, with two independent vocal lines sung simultaneously (Latin punctus contra punctum ‘note against note’).



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? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
He was possibly the most famous music theorist between Aristoxenus and Rameau, and made a large contribution to the theory of counterpoint as
de Vincenzo Galilei by Blackburn, Bonnie J. / Renaissance Quarterly
=flight], in music, a form of composition in which the basic principle is imitative counterpoint of several voices.
CLASSICAL by The Evening Standard (London, England)
The opening Allegro was,for much of the time, a troubled two-part counterpoint melody over a rocking bass, with some occasional bold unison passages -almost shouts of protest.
Arts diary: MUSIC: Stamic Quartet,Philharmonic Hall,Liverpool by Daily Post (Liverpool, England)
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