J.S. Bach - Choral from Cantata No.147. BACH- CANTATAS BWV 27, 84, 95 & 161 - HERREWEGHE.wmv. Bach - Cantata 140: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140 (1731) Cantata. Cantata. Historical context[edit] The term originated in the early 17th century simultaneously with opera and oratorio. Prior to that all "cultured" music was vocal. With the rise of instrumental music the term appeared, while the instrumental art became sufficiently developed to be embodied in sonatas. From the beginning of the 17th century until late in the 18th, the cantata for one or two solo voices with accompaniment of basso continuo (and perhaps a few solo instruments) was a principal form of Italian vocal chamber music.[2] A cantata consisted first of a declamatory narrative or scene in recitative, held together by a primitive aria repeated at intervals.
Differences from other musical forms[edit] The Italian solo cantata tended, when on a large scale, to become indistinguishable from a scene in an opera, in the same way the church cantata, solo or choral, is indistinguishable from a small oratorio or portion of an oratorio. Baroque[edit] Classical and romantic period[edit] References[edit]