1. a type of secular vocal music composition, typically for several voices without instrumental accompaniment, popular in the Renaissance period
Usage: music
2. a short lyrical poem, especially one expressing love or pastoral themes
Usage: poetry; literary

Examples

• The choir performed a beautiful Renaissance madrigal at the concert.
• Students in music history class studied the complex harmonies of Italian madrigals.
• The composer wrote a modern madrigal inspired by 16th-century styles.
• She discovered a collection of English madrigals in the library.
• The poet’s madrigal celebrated the beauty of spring flowers.
• Medieval troubadours often composed madrigals about courtly love.
• The madrigal’s intricate vocal parts required skilled singers to perform.