counterpoint, in music, the art of combining melodies each of which is independent though forming part of a homogeneous texture. The term derives from the Latin for "point against point," meaning note against note in referring to the notation of plainsong plainsong or plainchant, the unharmonized chant of the medieval Christian liturgies in Europe and the Middle East; usually synonymous with Gregorian chant, the liturgical music of the Roman Catholic Church.
..... Click the link for more information. . The academic study of counterpoint was long based on Gradus ad Parnassum (1725, tr. 1943) by Johann Joseph Fux (1660–1741), an Austrian theorist and composer. This work formulates the study of counterpoint into five species—note against note, two notes against one, four notes against one, syncopation, and florid counterpoint, which combines the other species. Countless textbooks have followed this method, but since the early 20th cent. several theorists have based their courses in counterpoint on a direct study of 16th-century contrapuntal practice. The early master composers of contrapuntal music include Palestrina Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da , c.1525–1594, Italian composer whose family name was Pierluigi; b. Palestrina, from which he took his name. Palestrina represents with Lasso the culmination of Renaissance music.
..... Click the link for more information. , Lasso Lasso, Orlando di , 1532–94, Franco-Flemish composer, b. Mons, also known as Orlandus Lassus or Roland de Lassus. Lasso represents the culmination of Renaissance musical art. At age 12, he entered the service of Ferrante Gonzaga, viceroy of Sicily.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Byrd Byrd, William, 1543–1623, English composer, organist at Lincoln Cathedral and, jointly with Tallis, at the Chapel Royal. Although Roman Catholic, he composed anthems and services for the English Church in addition to his great Roman masses and Latin motets.
..... Click the link for more information. . Polyphonic forms were later given a most brilliant and sophisticated expression during the baroque baroque, in music, a style that prevailed from the last decades of the 16th cent. to the first decades of the 18th cent. Its beginnings were in the late 16th-century revolt against polyphony that gave rise to the accompanied recitative and to opera.
..... Click the link for more information. era in the works of J. S. Bach Bach, Johann Sebastian , 1685–1750, German composer and organist, b. Eisenach; one of the greatest and most influential composers of the Western world.
..... Click the link for more information. . See also polyphony polyphony , music whose texture is formed by the interweaving of several melodic lines. The lines are independent but sound together harmonically. Contrasting terms are homophony, wherein one part dominates while the others form a basically chordal accompaniment, and
..... Click the link for more information. ; imitation imitation, in music, a device of counterpoint wherein a phrase or motive is employed successively in more than one voice. The imitation may be exact, the same intervals being repeated at the same or different pitches, or it may be free, in which case numerous types
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See W. Piston, Counterpoint (1947); H. Searle, Twentieth Century Counterpoint (1954).

counterpoint

Art of combining different melodic lines in a musical composition. The term is often used interchangeably with polyphony (music consisting of two or more distinct melodic lines), but counterpoint more specifically refers to the compositional technique involved in the handling of these melodic lines. The first recorded use of two melodic lines simultaneously was in 9th-century treatises showing examples of organum (a type of music for multiple voices), though improvised counterpoint—in which the voices probably moved mostly parallel to each other, and thus failed to convey an impression of independence—may date back to some centuries earlier. The desire to ensure pleasant consonances and avoid unpleasant dissonances when improvising (see consonance and dissonance) called for principles of simultaneous vocal motion (voice leading). Because the relative movement of voices approaching and leaving given intervals was thought to produce effects that were more or less pleasing, rules were created to govern various types of relative motion. The “vertical” aspect of counterpoint—the relationship between the melodic lines—came to be studied as harmony, especially from the 18th century. Though harmony and counterpoint are intimately intertwined, most of the multivoiced music of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance is considered essentially polyphonic or contrapuntal—that is, consisting of a combination of relatively independent and integral melodic lines. In the Baroque era, with the invention of figured bass and the continuo, the balance began to shift toward a harmonic orientation.

counterpoint

1. the technique involving the simultaneous sounding of two or more parts or melodies

2. a melody or part combined with another melody or part

3. the musical texture resulting from the simultaneous sounding of two or more melodies or parts

4. strict counterpoint the application of the rules of counterpoint as an academic exercise

5. Prosody the use of a stress or stresses at variance with the regular metrical stress

Counterpoint

in music:

(1) A type of multivoiced music in which all voices are of equal significance; in the 20th century it is more often called polyphony. One form is successive counterpoint, or the repeated introduction of voices of polyphonic structure with the altering of the interval between them (harmonic counterpoint) or the point at which they begin in relation to each other (linear counterpoint), as well as the combination of these methods (two-part counterpoint). In invertible counterpoint the interval of the voices is transposed.

(2) In a polyphonic composition, the melody that is sounded at the same time as the theme.

(3) In the narrow sense, multivoiced music in which each sound in one voice is answered by a sound in another voice that is introduced simultaneously and is of the same value.

(4) One of the main divisions of music theory; known as polyphony in the USSR.

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No references found			2: Four out of half a dozen or so bank counter points closed while the rest of the staff wonder around aimlessly, sniffily ignoring the huge lunchtime queue of customers. So do you share my pet hates? by Liverpool Echo (Liverpool, England) K=1AA1A1&Q=533) where executives from Cisco, Intel and Forrester Research discuss and dispel the five myths of wireless networks and present in-depth counter points to demonstrate the business value of pervasive wireless deployments. Cisco, Intel Team to Make the Case for Pervasive Wireless by Business Wire			count-key-data countability axioms countable countably additive countably additive set function countably compact set countably infinite set countably many countably metacompact space countably paracompact space countably subadditive countably subadditive set function countdown counted counter counter apse counter arch counter batten counter circuit counter coupling counter cramp counter dead time counter decade counter gauge counter mode Counter points Counter Reformation counter sun Counter Telescope counter terms counter tube counter voltage counter-free machine counter-imbrication Counter-Reformation counter-relief counter/frequency meter Counterapproaches Counterattack counterbalance counterbalance system counterbalanced truck counterbalanced window Counterbattery Activities counterblow hammer counterbore counterbrace counterbracing counterceiling Counterclaim countercurrent			Counter Mobility Counter Mobility Vehicle Counter mode Counter Narco-Terrorism Technology Program Office Counter Narcotics & Terrorism Operational Medical Support Counter Narcotics Alliance Counter Narcotics Program Counter Narcotics Steering Group Counter Narcotics Trust Fund Counter Narcotics Working Group Counter Narcotics/Command and Management System Counter Obstacle Team Counter Obstacle Vehicle Counter offer Counter offer Counter offer Counter Offers Counter Offers Counter Offers Counter opening counter order Counter parole Counter Parties Counter Party Counter Party Risk Counter Party Risk Counter Pedophilia Investigative Unit Counter plea Counter Point Counter Point Counter points Counter Pollution Counter potent Counter Preload Register High Counter pressure Counter project Counter Proliferation Programme Counter proof Counter Punch Counter Purchase Counter Purchases Counter RCIED Counter Reader/Writer Lock Counter Reformation Counter Reformation Counter revolution Counter revolutionary Counter Revolutionary Troop Counter Revolutionary Warfare Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit Counter revolutionist Counter Robotics Counter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar Counter Rotating Open Rotor Counter Rotating Turbo Fan Counter Rotation Counter Rotation Counter Rotation Counter Rotation Counter Rotation Counter Rotation

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Bibliography

counterpoint

Counterpoint
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