Homophony

Music in which one voice leads melodically, being supported by an accompaniment in chordal or a slightly more elaborate style.  Most music of the 19th century is homophonic.  Homophony is the opposite of polyphony, music in which all parts contribute more or less equally to the musical fabric.

However, the term "homophonic" is also applied to a kind of polyphonic (or part) music in which all the voices move in the same rhythm, thus producing a succession of intervals (in two-part writing) or chords (in three- or four-part writing).  Hence, homophonic is synonymous with "strict chordal style."

(see also Glossary entry)