What is a frottola?
Q: What is a frottola?
A: A frottola is the most popular secular song in Italy during the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
Q: How were frottole sung?
A: Frottole were often sung by small groups of singers. Sometimes they might have been sung by a solo voice with a lute accompaniment.
Q: Were frottole contrapuntal?
A: No, they were not contrapuntal, but they had a tune in the top part while the other singers sang chords to accompany the tune.
Q: Who was the most famous composer of frottole?
A: The most famous composer of frottole was Bartolomeo Tromboncino.
Q: Did Josquin compose frottole?
A: Yes, Josquin also composed frottole, although that is not what he called them.
Q: Can you give an example of a frottola?
A: El Grillo (The Cricket) is a well-known frottola in which the singers try to sound like the chirping of a cricket in the grass.
Q: What did the frottola develop into?
A: About the year 1530, the frottola developed into the madrigal.
