cantata

[ kuhn-tah-tuh ]
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noun
  1. a choral composition, either sacred and resembling a short oratorio or secular, as a lyric drama set to music but not to be acted.

  2. a metrical narrative set to recitative or alternate recitative and air, usually for a single voice accompanied by one or more instruments.

Origin of cantata

1
1715–25; <Italian, equivalent to cant(are) to sing (see cant1) + -ata-ate1

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British Dictionary definitions for cantata

cantata

/ (kænˈtɑːtə) /


noun
  1. a musical setting of a text, esp a religious text, consisting of arias, duets, and choruses interspersed with recitatives

Origin of cantata

1
C18: from Italian, from cantare to sing, from Latin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for cantata

cantata

[ (kuhn-tah-tuh) ]


A musical composition for voice and instruments and including choruses, solos, and recitatives.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.