The vocal solo had no place in their system and hence it never appears in the art music of their time.
Consequently the advent of the dramatic recitative introduced by Peri, Caccini and Cavaliere appears to be a striking phenomenon in the growth of music, and we are easily induced to believe that this new species burst upon the artistic firmament like a meteor.

The truth is, however, that the vague desire for solo expression had made itself felt in music for centuries before the Florentine movement.

The real significance of the Florentine invention was its destruction of the musical shackles which had so long hampered the advance toward truthful utterance.
We read frequently that the first instance of solo singing was the delivery of a madrigal of Corteccia in a play of 1539.

The character Sileno sang the upper part and accompanied himself on the violone, while the lower parts were given to other instruments.

But this was nothing new.