Broken Music
Preserved but no longer current.
In Elizabethan England this term meant (a) part, or concerted music ie music performed on instruments of different classes, such as the] "consorts" given in Morley's Consort Lessons (1599), which are written for the treble lute, cithern, pandora, fi.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Broken Music” mean?
In Elizabethan England this term meant (a) part, or concerted music ie music performed on instruments of different classes, such as the] "consorts" given in Morley's Consort Lessons (1599), which are written for the treble lute, cithern, pandora, fi.
Is “Broken Music” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.