Sonata vs. Cantata

Sonatanoun

(music) A musical composition for one or a few instruments, one of which is frequently a piano, in three or four movements that vary in key and tempo

Sonatanoun

An extended composition for one or two instruments, consisting usually of three or four movements; as, Beethoven's sonatas for the piano, for the violin and piano, etc.

Sonatanoun

a musical composition of 3 or 4 movements of contrasting forms

Sonata

Sonata (; Italian: [soˈnaːta], pl. sonate; from Latin and Italian: sonare [archaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by suonare], ), in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian cantare, ), a piece sung.

Cantatanoun

(music) A vocal composition accompanied by instruments and generally containing more than one movement, typical of 17th and 18th century Italian music.

Cantatanoun

A poem set to music; a musical composition comprising choruses, solos, interludes, etc., arranged in a somewhat dramatic manner; originally, a composition for a single noise, consisting of both recitative and melody.

Cantatanoun

a musical composition for voices and orchestra based on a religious text

Cantata

A cantata (; Italian: [kanˈtaːta]; literally , past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb cantare, ) is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of the term changed over time, from the simple single-voice madrigal of the early 17th century, to the multi-voice and the of the later part of that century, from the more substantial dramatic forms of the 18th century to the usually sacred-texted 19th-century cantata, which was effectively a type of short oratorio.