What is true of his music applies in a great measure to that of his contemporaries--those named above and a number of others. The three principal forms into which their compositions are cast are the _caccia_, the _ballata_ and the madrigal. The _caccia_ is the one indigenous form of the three, being of truly Tuscan origin. It is a canon for two voices, with or without a third as bass foundation, which does not participate in the canon (like the drone bass of 'Sumer is i-cumen in’). As its name implies (_caccia_ = chase) it is a hunting song, though later it is applied to the humorous description of a market scene. The _ballata_ is clearly derived from the dance songs of the troubadours. Its form as cultivated by the Florentines shows at the beginning a phrase whose text and melody serve as a chorus refrain (_ripresa_). This is followed by a middle section which is repeated (_piedi_) over a different text; then the opening section is again taken up with fresh text as a _volta_, after which it is repeated as refrain. Often there are a number of strophes (_copla_) which are alike except for the texts of the _piedi_. The madrigal, too, originated in Provence, being derived from the _pastourelle_. While the latter, however, recounts amorous adventures with rural belles, the madrigal poems of Dante and his successors have for their subject the contemplation of the beauties of nature, with a whimsical, philosophical or sentimental conclusion. Its musical form is similar to the ballad and _rondeau_; it is divided into two parts with repeats and its melodic phrases are usually not of greater length than would be required for about five text lines. We shall see later a new development of the madrigal in the polyphonic _a capella_ style, which became significant for the development of opera; the present form is, however, entirely monodic and accompanied.