In
musicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, a
chorale cantata is a sacred composition for voices and instruments, principally from the
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
BaroqueBaroque music describes a style of European classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1750. This era is said to begin in music after the Renaissance and was followed by the Classical era...
era, in which the organizing principle is the words and music to a
choraleA chorale was originally a hymn sung by a christian congregation. In casual modern usage, this term also includes classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....
. Usually a chorale cantata is in multiple movements or parts. Most chorale cantatas were written between approximately 1650 and 1750. By far the most famous are by
J.S. BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and organist whose ecclesiastical and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
, especially the cantatas written during his Leipzig period.
The chorale cantata developed out of the
chorale concertoIn music, a chorale concerto is a short sacred composition for one or more voices and instruments, principally from the very early German Baroque era...
, an earlier form much used by
Samuel ScheidtSamuel Scheidt was a German composer, organist and teacher of the early Baroque era.He was born in Halle, and after early studies there, he went to Amsterdam to study with Sweelinck, the distinguished Dutch composer, which was clearly formative on his style...
in the early 17th century, which incorporated elements of the
Venetian SchoolIn music history, the Venetian School is a term used to describe the composers working in Venice from about 1550 to around 1610; it also describes the music they produced. The Venetian polychoral compositions of the late 16th century were among the most famous musical events in Europe, and their...
, such as the
concertatoConcertato is a term in early Baroque music referring to either a genre or a style of music in which groups of instruments or voices share a melody, usually in alternation, and almost always over a basso continuo...
style, into the liturgical music of the
Protestant ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe which is generally deemed to have begun with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 although a number of precursors such as Jan Hus predate that event...
.
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In
musicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, a
chorale cantata is a sacred composition for voices and instruments, principally from the
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
BaroqueBaroque music describes a style of European classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1750. This era is said to begin in music after the Renaissance and was followed by the Classical era...
era, in which the organizing principle is the words and music to a
choraleA chorale was originally a hymn sung by a christian congregation. In casual modern usage, this term also includes classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....
. Usually a chorale cantata is in multiple movements or parts. Most chorale cantatas were written between approximately 1650 and 1750. By far the most famous are by
J.S. BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and organist whose ecclesiastical and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
, especially the cantatas written during his Leipzig period.
Description
The chorale cantata developed out of the
chorale concertoIn music, a chorale concerto is a short sacred composition for one or more voices and instruments, principally from the very early German Baroque era...
, an earlier form much used by
Samuel ScheidtSamuel Scheidt was a German composer, organist and teacher of the early Baroque era.He was born in Halle, and after early studies there, he went to Amsterdam to study with Sweelinck, the distinguished Dutch composer, which was clearly formative on his style...
in the early 17th century, which incorporated elements of the
Venetian SchoolIn music history, the Venetian School is a term used to describe the composers working in Venice from about 1550 to around 1610; it also describes the music they produced. The Venetian polychoral compositions of the late 16th century were among the most famous musical events in Europe, and their...
, such as the
concertatoConcertato is a term in early Baroque music referring to either a genre or a style of music in which groups of instruments or voices share a melody, usually in alternation, and almost always over a basso continuo...
style, into the liturgical music of the
Protestant ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe which is generally deemed to have begun with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 although a number of precursors such as Jan Hus predate that event...
. Later the chorale cantata developed into three general forms:
- a form in which each verse (strophe
Strophe is a concept in versification which properly means a turn, as from one foot to another, or from one side of a chorus to the other....
) of the chorale was developed as an independent movement;
- a form in which the chorale appeared in some of the movements, perhaps only two, and the other parts of the cantata used other texts; and
- the version pioneered by J.S. Bach, in which the first and last movements use the first and last strophes of the chorale, but the inner movements—perhaps aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
and recitativeRecitative , also known by its Italian name "recitativo" , is a style of delivery in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms of ordinary speech...
—use paraphrases of the actual chorale text. Typically the beginning and ending movements use all the instrumental and vocal forces, while the interior movements are for smaller groups.
Most compositions in this genre were never published. It was common at the time for composers to write for local performances; often the composer and the music director at a church were the same person, and the music was written, copied, and performed in short order, and remained in manuscript. Probably over 95% of all compositions of this type have been lost.
Baroque
- Samuel Scheidt
Samuel Scheidt was a German composer, organist and teacher of the early Baroque era.He was born in Halle, and after early studies there, he went to Amsterdam to study with Sweelinck, the distinguished Dutch composer, which was clearly formative on his style...
- Johann Andreas Herbst
Johann Andreas Herbst was a German composer and music theorist of the early Baroque era. He was a contemporary of Michael Praetorius and Heinrich Schütz, and like them, assisted in importing the grand Venetian style and the other features of the early Baroque into Protestant Germany.- Life :He...
- Johann Erasmus Kindermann
Johann Erasmus Kindermann was a German Baroque organist and composer. He was the most important composer of the Nuremberg school in the first half of the 17th century.-Life:...
- Franz Tunder
Franz Tunder was a German composer and organist of the early to middle Baroque era. He was an important link between the early German Baroque style which was based on Venetian models, and the later Baroque style which culminated in the music of J.S...
- Nicolaus Bruhns
Nicolaus Bruhns was one of the greatest organists and composers of his time...
- Dieterich Buxtehude
Dieterich Buxtehude was a German-Danish organist and a highly regarded composer of the Baroque period. His organ works comprise a central part of the standard organ repertoire and are frequently performed at recitals and church services...
- Johann Krieger
Johann Philipp Krieger was a German Baroque composer and organist. He was the elder brother of Johann Krieger.-Early years:The Krieger brothers came from a Nuremberg family of rugmakers...
- Sebastian Knüpfer
Sebastian Knüpfer Sebastian Knüpfer Sebastian Knüpfer (6 September 1633; Asch, Bavaria (now Aš, Czech Republic 10 October 1676; Leipzig, Germany) was a German composer. He was Kantor of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, and director of the city’s music.-External links:...
- Johann Schelle
- Johann Pachelbel
Johann Pachelbel was a German Baroque composer, organist and teacher, who brought the south German organ tradition to its peak...
- Johann Rosenmüller
Johann Rosenmüller was a German Baroque composer who played a part in transmitting Italian musical styles to the north....
- Johannes Crüger
- Joachim Gerstenbüttel
- Georg Bronner
- Christoph Graupner
Christoph Graupner was a German harpsichordist and composer of high Baroque music who lived and worked at the same time as Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann and George Frideric Handel.-Graupner's life:Born in Hartmannsdorf near Kirchberg in Saxony, Graupner received his first musical...
- Johann Kuhnau
Johann Kuhnau was a German composer, organist and harpsichordist.Kuhnau was born in Geising. He preceded Johann Sebastian Bach as cantor of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig. There Kuhnau taught Johann David Heinichen and Christoph Graupner, both of whom were to become composers...
- Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann was a German Baroque music composer and multi-instrumentalist, born in Magdeburg. Self-taught in music, he studied law at the University of Leipzig...
- Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and organist whose ecclesiastical and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...