How to Use cantata in a Sentence

cantata

noun
  • The first major addition is the text that bridges the cantata’s three chorales.
    — Mene Ukueberuwa, WSJ, 23 Mar. 2018
  • This cantata by Carl Orff is based on two dozen medieval poems.
    — Anchorage Daily News, 10 Mar. 2023
  • The concert will open with a cantata by the Bach Aria Soloists’ namesake.
    — Patrick Neas, kansascity, 10 June 2018
  • There is also music, debate, current events, quizzes, and that weird fusion of arts — the cantata.
    — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2021
  • Each ensemble will present a cantata and an a cappella piece plus a double-choir number that will include all of the singers.
    — oregonlive, 10 Jan. 2022
  • Orff originally wrote it for tenor, that soloist’s single appearance in the cantata.
    — Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 16 Aug. 2025
  • Francis highlighted all the drama in Mozart’s cantata and never allowed the pace to drag.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 June 2019
  • With its message of hope just beyond the horizon, the cantata has become a staple of Advent church services.
    — Mene Ukueberuwa, WSJ, 23 Mar. 2018
  • At the beginning, the soul is very remorseful and repenting, but the soul is redeemed throughout the cantata.
    — Patrick Neas, kansascity, 10 June 2018
  • The composer Georges Bizet is said to have commemorated her with a cantata, although it is now lost.
    — Claudine Doury, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Oct. 2020
  • The program began not with an overture, but with Berlioz’ dramatic cantata La mort de Cléopatre.
    — Scott Cantrell, Dallas News, 11 May 2021
  • David Timm conducted the university’s choir and Baroque ensemble in three cantatas, over and above the 33.
    — James R. Oestreich, New York Times, 15 June 2018
  • The dramatic cantata by Telemann stars soprano soloist Clara Rottsolk.
    — David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Oct. 2023
  • Nicolai composed the hymn on which the cantata was eventually based in 1598, while everything around him was dying at an alarming speed.
    — Mene Ukueberuwa, WSJ, 23 Mar. 2018
  • Robbins follows quite closely the scenario of Stravinsky’s 1923 dance cantata.
    — New York Times, 10 May 2018
  • The different ensembles formed a cohesive group and gave a powerful performance of Orff’s cantata.
    — Jessica Rudman, courant.com, 9 June 2018
  • Scored for soprano, two tenors and orchestra, the 20-minute cantata sounds a lot like Haydn but the dominant voice is Cherubini’s.
    — John Von Rhein, chicagotribune.com, 22 June 2018
  • What sets his movie apart are the flavors, feelings and fleeting glimpses of attraction that find as much erotic tension in a volleyball game or alfresco lunch as in sparring over a Bach cantata.
    — Ann Hornaday, idahostatesman, 19 Jan. 2018
  • The urgency of the background cantata with a booming all-male chorus paired with some of the most impressive digital pyrotechnics in video games moved me to tears, overwhelming my senses of sight and sound.
    — Gene Park, Washington Post, 21 June 2023
  • Bach's full Christmas Oratorio is a collection of six cantatas, each for a specific feast day during the holiday period.
    — Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 22 Mar. 2024
  • The film is perhaps better suited to young audiences, who will appreciate scenes in which Marie-Josèphe draws inspiration from the mermaid’s song to compose a cantata.
    — Peter Debruge, Variety, 22 Apr. 2022
  • The one non-Bach item on the program was a brief cantata by Buxtehude, a composer Bach admired and famously walked 250 miles to hear play the organ.
    — David Weininger, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Oct. 2022
  • Symphony San Jose is presenting the cantata in partnership with several Chinese American organizations, promising a performance of grandeur and a call for peace in the world.
    — Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 14 Aug. 2025
  • The closing sequence, which is set in Romania (a detail revealed in the closing credits, not the film itself), revolves around Freddie at 33 and, not coincidentally, a Bach cantata invoking Christ.
    — Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 May 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cantata.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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