The cantata, named by Alessandro Grandi, is a composition for one or more voices with instrumental accompaniment. This form was important in the Baroque era, and can be either secular or sacred. The form of an Italian cantata is controlled by the text and follows the form of a recitative, arioso or aria-like writing. The composers and publishers accepted the word cantata around the early seventeenth century.
The cantata took form in three main places: Rome, Bologna and Venice. Rome was the center of cantata composition in the seventeenth century. This was because the large aristocratic population could support many composers. It is hard to trace the early cantata because the manuscripts were undated. There were two main types of cantatas 1670. The first type is single aria called ariette corte and the second kind is in numerous sections with recitative, arioso and aria styles that follow the text. 1640 appears to be a turning point in the development cantata form. Strophic variation in the cantata dies away in the mid seventeenth century and ostinato basses took its place. In Bologna, composers were writing cantatas and improving the form. One of the most important composers was Cazzati. Other composers were Bononcini and Bassani. Bassani's and Scarlatti's cantatas were very similar, but Bassani used instruments other than continuo at accompany the voices. The composer Bononcini carried the cantata into the first part of the eighteenth century. His figured bass parts were complex, probably because he was a cellist. His recitatives were adventurous in the use of chromaticism; he was the most talked about composer of the area. In Venice the composers did not make a great presence in the cantata of the mid and late seventeenth century, because of opera. Barbara Strozzi did not write opera and was one the great composer of the cantata. The next major composer of cantatas in Venice was Legrenzi, in they late seventeenth century.
Bach was a great composer of choral and vocal music, many of these being the cantatas that he wrote. ... A devout Lutheran, He composed a great many church works, well over two hundred cantatas" several motets, five masses, three oratorios, and four settings of the Passion story, one of which, The ST. ...
Cantata is another form of Baroque music and unlike instrumental music of concerto and sonata; it focuses on the voice to illustrate vocal skills. ... From the year 1660-1725, Alessandro Scarlatti a famous cantata composer, revealed a very compassionate and melancholic scheme of love and betrayal in his compositions. ... Similar to cantata, opera music was created to display vocal skills however; it combines drama based on ancient Greek tragedy with the emotion from instrumental music. ...
In Weimar he composed about 30 cantatas, and also wrote organ and harpsichord works. ... Regardless, the 202 cantatas surviving from the 295 that he wrote in Leipzig are still played today. Nearly all of the cantatas" start with a section for both chorus and orchestras, continue with alternating recitatives and arias for solo voices and accompaniment, and end with a chorale based on a simple Lutheran hymn. Among these works are the Ascension Cantata and the Christmas Oratorio, the following including of six cantatas. ...
The Baroque Era featured such forms of music including: the Opera, the Cantata, the Oratorio, and the Concerto. ... Johann Sebastian Bach, probably the most recognized composer of the Baroque era wrote approximately 60 cantatas a year. A cantata is a vocal genre for solo singers, chorus, and instrumentalists based on a lyric or dramatic poetic narrative. ... In addition to his many cantatas and one Mass, Bach wrote orchestral suites, concertos, and keyboard music for music and harpsichord. ...
Therefore he plunged into composing church cantatas, occasional pieces, and orchestral and instrumental chamber music. ... As Kantor he was required to compose two cantatas a week, annually produce a new Passion, and to provide occasional works for church and civil ceremonies. ... He produced 1043 church cantatas, and 46 total settings of the Passion for each year he was in Hamburg. ...
Allesandro Scarlatti's Il Mitridate Eupatore Although more commonly known for his chamber cantatas, Alessandro Scarlatti's works span over several different styles, including church music, motets, masses, serenades and operas. ... He found his outlet in oratorio and in writing cantatas for Roman patrons. ... Some notable accomplishments of Scarlatti include the following: He was the leader of the Neapolitan School, during which time he arguably perfected the aria da capo and three-part overture; he wrote over 100 operas, church music, motets, masses, serenades, madrigals, and o...
In all his positions as choir director, Bach composed religious cantatas: a total of some 300, of which nearly 200 are in existence. Actually I think my church may have used one or more Bach's cantatas recently. There are also over 30 secular cantatas. ...
It was here that Bach settled himself and began to compose the first collection of his finest early works which, included organ pieces and cantatas. ... Up until this point, Bach was mainly writing organ pieces and church cantatas. ... He had the responsibility of composing cantatas for the St. ...
Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 21st 1685. He is the son of Johann Ambrosius. For many years, members of the Bach family had held positions such as organists, town instrumentalists, or Cantors. When Bach was eight years old he went to the old Latin Grammar School. He was ta...
