A quodlibet is a piece of music which combines several different melodies in counterpoint, usually popular tunes, and often in a light-hearted manner. A very famous example of a quodlibet is at the end of Bach's Goldberg Variations. Another example is Galimathias Musicum, a 17 part quodlibet composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart when he was about 10 years old.
... the novel opens, Stiva's friend Levin has returned Moscow from his country estate with the intention of proposing to Kitty. He first meets Stiva who encourages him in this ...