What is Glosa?
'''Glosa''' is a term that was often used by [[Spain|Spanish]] [[musician]]s in the [[16th century]] to mean: a piece of music which was similar to a set of [[variations (music)|variations]]. Composers at that time often wrote collections of '''glosas'''. The term is related to the word “gloss”. They were comparing it to gloss (ornamentation) that a [[poet]] might put on his [[poem]]. They were often on [[religious]] themes. [[Antonio de Cabezón]] was an important composer of glosas. '''Glosa''' was also used by Spanish musicians to mean: musical [[ornamentation (music)|ornamentation]]. This is the meaning in the title of a famous book of music for [[viola da gamba]] and [[harpsichord]] by [[Diego Ortiz]] called ''Trattado de glosas'' ([[1553]]). {{music-stub}} [[Category:Musical forms]]