Cantata
A multi-movement vocal work, between opera and oratorio
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A cantata is a multi-movement vocal work, usually for soloists, choir and a small orchestra: like a shortened opera without staging, or a small oratorio on an intimate scale. Bach wrote hundreds of church cantatas, producing a new one for the liturgy week after week.
It differs from opera in having no stage: the concert form makes the narrative advance through words and music rather than acting. A cantata is not simply a "big chorus": the Chinese term often means a choral work, while a cantata stresses the combination of soloists, choir and instruments.
Read deeper → Musical Form
Sources
- 康塔塔的体裁演变与巴赫的教堂康塔塔，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Cantata"；本文为原创表述
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