It began in the 14th century and, as what is now termed [[polyphony]], reached heights in the music of [[Palestrina]], [[William Byrd|Byrd]], [[Lassus]] and others during the 15th and 16th centuries. It continued to develop and by the time of [[Bach]] and [[Handel]] it had been “codified” into various forms; the most notable being the “''fugue''”. This high [[Baroque]] period (generally considered to be the first half of the 18th century) is the high point of contrapuntal writing. | It began in the 14th century and, as what is now termed [[polyphony]], reached heights in the music of [[Palestrina]], [[William Byrd|Byrd]], [[Lassus]] and others during the 15th and 16th centuries. It continued to develop and by the time of [[Bach]] and [[Handel]] it had been “codified” into various forms; the most notable being the “''fugue''”. This high [[Baroque]] period (generally considered to be the first half of the 18th century) is the high point of contrapuntal writing. |