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DictionarycantataVocal composition
noun

cantata

kan-TAH-tuh/kænˈtɑːtə/

A musical work for voices and instruments, often sacred.

The choir rehearses a cantata with the chamber orchestra.

A choir sings in sections beside instrumentalists while a conductor cues different groups through a multi-part musical performance.
Etymology
cantataItalianthat which is sung

Italian cantata means “that which is sung,” from cantare, “to sing.” Its early sense of a musical recitation of a story connects the name to the work’s vocal focus, even when instruments accompany the voices.

In context

ETSU Online0:54
cantata, we've already seen that that's a piece for vocal, plus orchestra.
Johannes Brahms & Romantic Vocal Music - OpenBUCS
The British Museum18:51
title of a Bach cantata. A cantata first performed in Weimar
Tour of the exhibition Germany: memories of a nation with British Museum Director Neil MacGregor

More examples

  • A soloist opens the second movement of the cantata.
  • The church commissions a new sacred cantata.
  • The program pairs two short cantatas.

Forms

cantata · cantatas

Similar words

oratorio
Usually a larger unstaged vocal work with a narrative.
motet
Usually a choral composition, often shorter and less sectional.