Sentence:  Every piece chosen explored the concept of <WSD>concertato</WSD>, the musical equivalent of a conversation in a lively, eclectic social setting: a boisterous pub, perhaps, as the program note suggested. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  An early Baroque genre or style of music in which groups of instruments or voices share a melody, usually in alternation, and almost always over a basso continuo.