Reformation & Counter-Reformation;

This is neither the time nor the place to retrace all the steps that led the reformers to their various fates; neither need we outline the reactions of those who forged the basic ideas of the Counter-Reformation by defending the principles of the Roman Catholic Church. Such a description of the historical background simply aids us to a better understanding of the role that music played in these situations, how it was able to adapt itself to the precepts that the two faiths proclaimed and how it continued its development during a highly complex period in history. It was during this time that polyphony had reached its apogee, and was beginning to give way to the accompanied single lines and the rich expression that would characterize the baroque.