Canzona

(a) Sixteenth century Italian secular vocal music; (b) Sixteenth and seventeenth century instrumental (solo or ensemble) form using imitative techniques developed from Franco-Flemish chansons. The most important instrumental form of the late Renaissance. A canzona consists of contrasting sections in a single movement, alternating in tempo, meter, etc. In the Baroque era, it eventually became a separate movement in sonata. The organ canzonas were the forerunners of the fugue; the ensemble canzonas eventually developed into the sonata da chiesa.