| LC control no. | sh2011004792 |
|---|---|
| Topical heading | Serenatas |
| See also | Dramatic music Cantatas, Secular |
| Found in | Work cat.: Scarlatti, A. Venere, Amore e Ragione, c2000. Oxford music online, Oct. 3, 2011: Grove music online (Serenata: A dramatic cantata, normally celebratory or eulogistic, for two or more singers with orchestra. The serenata shares important features with the chamber cantata, oratorio and opera. It has been seen variously as a species of overblown cantata and a miniature opera, but in reality, the serenata is a distinct genre. The serenata shares important features with the chamber cantata, oratorio, and opera. Like the cantata, it was usually a courtly entertainment given privately before an invited audience; however, learned societies and colleges also promoted serenatas. They vary greatly in length.) Oxford music online, Oct. 3, 2011: Oxford companion to music (Serenata: A large-scale, cantata-like work for performance at court or at the home of an aristocratic family on a special occasion. A typical serenata had a pastoral, allegorical, or mythological subject, which involved at least two characters. In length somewhere between a cantata and an opera, it was often divided into sections, each consisting of recitatives and arias, and was given in an elaborate setting with costumes but without dramatic action. Handel's Acis and Galatea is a well-known example.) Harvard dict. of music, 4th ed. (Serenata: In the Baroque period, a cantata composed to celebrate a special occasion such as the name-day of a prince of the arrival of an important visitor. Serenatas were often performed in the evening and outdoors, hence the name. They were usually longer and more elaborate than solo cantatas, with several characters and a plot or theme of pastoral, mythological, or allegorical content. Serenatas commonly featured impressive costumes and scenery but little or no stage action. Important composers of serenatas include Alessandro Stradella and Alessandro Scarlatti in Italy and Johann Joseph Fux and Antonio Caldara in Vienna.) |
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