View source for Rondeau - rondo

Be careful not to confuse the [[homophone]]s ''''rondo'''' and ''''rondeau'''' - both pronounced RON-dow, {{IPA|ËˆrÉ’ndÉ™ÊŠ}}. 

The word ''''rondo'''' is used exclusively as the name of a musical form. In a '''rondo''' the first section, often referred to as the principal theme, alternates with sections each of which contains different musical material. A piece of music in '''rondo''' form thus has the structure ABACADA or some variant of this, i.e., the principal theme (A) is repeated rather like a [[refrain]]. See further [[Rondo]].

The word ''''rondeau'''' is the name of a [[verse form]] which originated in France in the [[Middle Ages]] and of the musical form which was developed to set poems in this [[verse form]] to music. The '''rondeau''' in this latter sense was the ancestor of the '''rondo'''. See further [[Rondeau]].


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