Music written for chorus and orchestra. Most often religious in nature.

A composite secular vocal genre of the Baroque period. It is on a smaller scale than opera and not staged. The reform cantatas (after Neumeister's texts) consist of several movements such as arias, recitatives, duets and choruses based on a narrative text. Appeared as an offspring of monodic style and replaced the sixteenth century madrigals.

A choral work that uses solo voices with an instrumental (usually orchestral) accompaniment. A cantata is generally a choral work of some length that also uses solo voices, usually with instrumental accompaniment. The texts used may be sacred or secular. Some cantatas use solo voices without chorus or choir. Listen to Bach's Cantata No. 140 (Wachet Auf) for a beautiful example.