cantata

American  

[kuhn-tah-tuh] / kənˈtɑ tə /

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.

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cantata British  

/ kænˈtɑːtə /

noun

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

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cantata Cultural  

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

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Etymology

Origin of cantata

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

Explanation

If you ever listen to classical music, you’ve probably heard a cantata — a piece of religious music made for voices and instruments. Johann Sebastian Bach was a famous composer of cantatas. He wrote hundreds, and you’ve probably heard them played at weddings, in a church, at a party thrown by a king (or in car commercials). The word comes from the Italian cantare, which means “sing,” and the singers are the focus of a cantata — whether it’s one person or a whole choir. Cantatas are often based on religious writing, but can be inspired by poetry and literature as well.

Example Sentences

It’s time we dig out Bach’s joyous “Christmas” Oratorio, Berlioz’s ravishing “L’Enfance du Christ,” Liszt’s cinematic “Christus,” Honegger’s contemplative “Christmas” Cantata, Christopher Rouse’s carousing “Karolju” and George Crumb’s adorable “Little Suite for Christmas,” for starters.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 22, 2021

The first Pulitzer prize for music went, in 1943, to William Schuman’s Secular Cantata No 2.

From The Guardian • Apr. 22, 2018

Bach had worked with these very tenets earlier in his career, when he composed glorious musical settings of them in his Cantata No. 172, “Ring Out, Ye Songs.”

From New York Times • Mar. 30, 2018

The Hubble Cantata LA Opera co-presents the West Coast premiere of this musical fable, enhanced by images from the Hubble Space Telescope, about an astrophysicist searching for his wife among the stars.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 8, 2017

On campus the big event was the Christmas Cantata, a musical program put on by the residents, followed by fancy food served in the cottages.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

Related Words

• arrangement
• concerto
• drama
• melody
• music
• piece
• poetry
• setup
• symphony
• theme
• tune
• writing