[kan-zuh-net] 
| an early polyphonic song of dancelike character. |
| can·zo·net (kān'zə-nět') n. A short lighthearted air or song. [From Italian canzonetta, diminutive of canzone; see canzone.] |
canzonet
form of 16th-century (c. 1565 and later) Italian vocal music. It was the most popular of the lighter secular forms of the period in Italy and England and perhaps in Germany as well. The canzonet follows the canzonetta poetic form; it is strophic (stanzaic) and often in an AABCC pattern. It is considered a refinement of the villanella (a three-voice form imitating rustic music) but bears some resemblance to the more serious madrigal, one of the major forms of the century. It is light in mood, with a clear four- to six-voice texture, and is characterized by dancelike rhythms, some word painting (musical depiction of certain words like "flight" or "fire"), and much use of simple melodic imitation
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zəˈnɛt