Improvisation

Improvisation
(im-prah-vih-ZAY-shun)

Term referring to the spontaneous performance of music without previous preparation or any written notes. Improvisation can be seen in music of the Medieval era, where singers were trained to improvise additional lines to liturgical chant while it was being performed, in the Renaissance, where a musician would improvise over the written chords usually on a keyboard instrument or on a viol, in the Baroque, where ornamentation and realization of figured bass was common, in the Classical and Romantic eras, where cadenzas of concertos were expected to be improvised, and in 20th century jazz.

Improvisation, Baroque:
Caccini: Amarilli mia bella: W. W. Norton - 4-CD Musical Example Bank -- Disc 2, Track 52
Handel: Keyboard Suite No. 5 in E major, Air and Variations (Harmonious Blacksmith) (conclusion, air): W. W. Norton - 4-CD Musical Example Bank -- Disc 2, Track 62
Improvisation, indeterminancy:
Foss: Time Cycle, "Improvised Interlude No. 2": W. W. Norton - 4-CD Musical Example Bank -- Disc 3, Track 55