Book excerpt: The sixteenth century produced some of the finest vocal music in the history of this art. While the style of the composers of the late sixteenth century, an era which found vocal polyphony at its best, has been given considerable attention, the music written in the first half of the sixteenth century is also worthy of investigation, since without the foundation which was laid early in the century, vocal music could not have attained the heights which it did in the latter part of the century. Among those whose names are connected with secular music of the early sixteenth century is Jacques Arcadelt. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he was prolific as a composer of both the Italian madrigal and the French chanson. Although he contributed little that was new or startling, he did, nonetheless, share a part in the development of the vocal polyphony of the sixteenth century and his music merits investigation. This does not pretend to be an exhaustive study of the style of Arcadelt. However, an analysis has been made, from selected madrigals and chansons, of melody, rhythm, dissonance, harmony, and formal devices in an attempt to determine something of the style of the composer. Also included is a comparison of the styles of the madrigal and the chanson as treated by Arcadelt.