Principal liturgical (church-based) musical forms which remained in use throughout the Renaissance period were masses and motets, with some other developments towards the end of the era, especially as composers of sacred music began to adopt secular (non-religious) musical forms (such as the madrigal) for religious use ...Music was an essential part of civic, religious, and courtly life in the Renaissance. ... The most important music of the early Renaissance was composed for use by the church—polyphonic (made up of several simultaneous melodies) masses and motets in Latin for important churches and court chapels.
