early music

American  

noun

1. music of the medieval, Renaissance, and early Baroque periods, especially revived and played on period instruments; European music after ancient music and before the classical music era, from the beginning of the Middle Ages to about 1750.

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early music British  

noun

1. music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, sometimes also including music of the baroque and early classical periods

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1. of or denoting an approach to musical performance emphasizing the use of period instruments and historically researched scores and playing techniques

   the early-music movement

Other Word Forms

• early musician noun
• early-music adjective

Etymology

Origin of early music

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

There’s bits and pieces of my early music that are all over this album.

From Los Angeles Times

The animated French early music specialist Emmanuelle Haïm, the orchestra’s artistic collaborator, isn’t letting Christmas get away this year.

From Los Angeles Times

Spears had phenomenal early music success with late 1990s hits like "...Baby One More Time" but has largely stepped back from music in recent years.

From Barron's

“Ultimate Rose” from Salvatore Sciarrino’s 1981 opera, “Vanitas,” turns early music, along with vocal and cello production, marvelously inside out.

From Los Angeles Times

Half of the reason y’all early music was cracking is because of us dancing down and making it viral every time.

From Los Angeles Times