Cantata: A composite vocal genre of the Baroque era, consisting of a succession of recitatives, ariosos, and set-pieces (e.g. arias, duets, and choruses). A cantata may be either secular or sacred in subject matter and function, and its treatment may be lyrical, allegorical, or dramatic (although almost never actually staged). Cantatas range from intimate, small-scale works for solo singer or singers and restricted accompanimental forces to large ones with chorus and orchestral accompaniment....The most frequently performed cantatas today are sacred works by Bach with German texts that were intended for performance during Lutheran church services. They typically employ several soloists and chorus and are accompanied by a small orchestra but did not receive the name "cantata" or the familiar numbers until they were published in the nineteenth century.
Chorale: The congregational song or hymn of the German Protestant (Evangelical) Lutheran Church.....Luther, like Calvin, insisted upon the value of congregational singing in the vernacular as part of the liturgical action; and, like Calvin, Luther recognized that texts for congregational song should be strophic in form, metrical in style, and vernacular in language....Bach composed many four-part harmonizations (still often regarded as paradigms of tonal harmony) and employed chorale melodies in very diverse and often elaborate ways for voices and for organ.
Chorale concerto: A Baroque musical composition in which a chorale melody alternates with an instrumental, concerto-like ritornello.
French overture: A composition for orchestra intended as an introduction to an opera or other dramatic or vocal work....In France, overtures were of a specific sort consisting of two parts: first a stately slow section in duple meter with pervasive dotted rhythms, then a faster fugal section, usually in triple or compound meter....The French overture remained the standard type in France during the reign of Louis XIV and was quickly adopted by composers in Germany, England and elsewhere.
Dotted rhythm: A rhythm of paired unequal notes, dotted notes (notes followed by a dot have their normal duration increased by a half) alternating with short ones.
Secco recitative: Accompanied recitative A half-singing, half reciting style of presenting words in opera, cantata, oratorio, etc., following speech accents and speech rhythms closely. Secco recitative is accompanied only by a continuo instrument (e.g., cello and harpsichord, harpsichord, or organ); accompanied recitative is accompanied by an orchestra.
Speech rhythm: A musical rhythm derived from spoken language rather than a regular meter.
Chord: A grouping of pitches played and heard simultaneously that accompanies recitative.
Aria, Da capo aria: An operatic song distinguished from recitative by being more melodic and lyrical and having a regular meter. Da capo aria is an aria in ABA form, i.e., one in which the first section is repeated at the end. Da capo (Italian, "from the beginning") is the direction to the performer to return to the first section at the end.
Duple meter: A meter consisting of one accented beat alternating with one unaccented beat: one two one two.
Triple meter: A meter consisting of one accented beat alternating with two unaccented beats: one two three one two three.
Definitions taken from Don Michael Randel, ed., The New
Harvard Dictionary of Music (Cambridge, Mass: The Belknap
Press of Harvard University Press, 1986); Joseph Kerman, Listen,
2nd brief ed. (New York: Worth Publishers, 1992).