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A number of forms were developed in the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Structures in the Renaissance period were mainly based on the text being used. Religious music was written to be sung by choirs in churches. It often took the form of masses or motets. The congregation would not have sung at all. Outside the church, the madrigal was a popular song form and there were also many types of dance music, eg the galliard or the pavane.

Binary form - AB

Binary form has two sections. It was commonly used by Baroque composers - especially in dances. Binary form also followed some conventions in terms of tonality:

• Section A - begins in the tonic key, ends in the dominant key and is usually repeated.
• Section B - begins in the dominant key and returns to the tonic key.

Listen to this extract, which is section A of a binary form piece:

Ternary form - ABA

Ternary form is made up of three sections. It was commonly found in the minuet and trio in Baroque dances. It then evolved into a movement within the Classical symphony. The repeat of section A is not always exact, but is very close to the opening section.

Ritornello form - ABACA

In ritornello form, the section A returns between each new section. It was commonly used in the Baroque period. The ritornello section - A - would often return in keys related to the tonic, for example, the dominant or the relative minor. If the original section was long, it would often return in a shortened version. The sections between the ritornello sections are called episodes. Ritornello form evolved into rondo form in the Classical period. Ritornello form can be found in many concerti grossi, such as Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos.

You can hear the opening of a ritornello here:

Da capo aria - ABA

This was a common form found in several types of vocal music including operas by composers such as George Frederick Handel and oratorios - perhaps the most famous is Handel’s Messiah. A da capo aria is one where the voice returns to the top of the movement (da capo) and repeats the first section of the music. It was common for the soloist to add ornamentation when the first section was repeated. “He was despised” from Handel’s Messiah is an example of a da capo aria.

Ground bass

A ground bass is a repeated bass line over which harmonies and melodies change. Ground bass was popular in Baroque music. An example can be found in Henry Purcell’s Music for a While or “Dido’s Lament” from Dido and Aeneas.