Achievement.

In the modern world, rich musical traditions have so long affected the ear that it is difficult for modern listeners to imagine the musical styles that were common in Western Europe 700 years ago. For centuries, the Western musical tradition has made extensive use of harmony, rhythm, melody, and lyrics, and it has embraced innovation and experimentation in sound. But while the modern musical universe is constantly evolving, a tradition of musical experimentation was also a feature of the musical landscape of the Renaissance. The music of the Middle Ages, while often of great expressive beauty, possessed dynamic and harmonic possibilities that were considerably more limited than the art form known today. The Renaissance helped to open up those possibilities by embracing new rhythms and harmonies, developing new genres like the madrigal and opera, and exploring the musical colors of instruments and the human...