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Cantata
(2,320 words)

1. Term and genre in the early 17th century

The concept of the cantata (Italian cantata or cantada, from Latin/Italian cantare, ‘to sing’), unlike that of the madrigal, for instance, is poetologically vague and permits no valid generic criteria to be proposed. In the early 17th century, the term cantata appeared in imitation of the word sonata, and at first it referred to Ita…

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Waczkat, Andreas, “Cantata”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_021901>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20160907



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