Editing Cantata (section)

==Baroque==
{{see also|Church cantata|List of church cantatas by liturgical occasion}}
During the baroque era, the term "cantata" generally retained its original Italian usage to describe a secular vocal piece of extended length, often in different sections, and usually Italianate in style. At the same time, vocal pieces of similar scope, often with several singers, and various instruments, were in  great demand for the services of the [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] church. Such pieces were usually called ''geistliche Konzerte'' (singular: ''geistliches Konzert'', meaning sacred concerto). Many of these pieces were simply called by their opening text. Such pieces for the [[Christian liturgy|liturgy]] or other occasions were not only composed by Bach but also by [[Dieterich Buxtehude]], [[Christoph Graupner]], [[Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel]] and [[Georg Philipp Telemann]], to name a few. The editors of the [[Bach Gesellschaft]] adopted "sacred cantata" as a convenient catchall for most of Bach's liturgical pieces. The term was then retroactively applied by [[Philipp Spitta]] to refer to comparable works by composers from [[Heinrich Schütz]] onwards.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Krummacher|first1=Friedhelm|title=Cantata, § II: The German cantata to 1800|url=http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/04748pg2|website=Grove Music Online|access-date=6 July 2017}}</ref> Many secular cantatas were composed for events in the nobility. They were so similar in form to the sacred ones that many of them were [[Parody#Music|parodied]] (in parts or completely) to sacred cantatas, for example in Bach's ''Christmas Oratorio''.

===Bach cantatas===
{{Main|Bach cantata|List of Bach cantatas}}
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Johann Sebastian Bach, almost 200 of whose cantatas survive, is a notable contributor to the genre.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Dellal|first1=Pamela|title=What is a Cantata?|url=http://www.emmanuelmusic.org/notes_translations/notes_cantata/what_is_a_cantata.htm|website=www.emmanuelmusic.org|access-date=22 April 2018}}</ref>
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His cantatas are usually written for a baroque orchestra consisting of a string section, an oboe section, and a [[basso continuo|continuo]] group, timpani and brass were sometimes added on festive occasions such as Christmas or Easter. The vocal forces consisted of a four-part choir and soloists. Bach also wrote some cantatas for only one solo singer (ex. [[BWV 51]]).

===Graupner's cantatas===
[[Christoph Graupner]] was Hofkapellmeister at the court of [[Hesse-Darmstadt]] and provided over 1,400 cantatas during his nearly 50 years of employment there, making him the most significant contributor to the genre. While only a handful of Bach's cantatas contain accompanied chorales (the vocal parts are usually doubled by the instrumental parts), nearly all of Graupner's chorales feature elaborate ritornello sections.<ref>Richard Kram, ''The Cantata Chorales of Christoph Graupner'', 2013</ref> This is possibly because Bach's Leipzig congregation was expected to sing along with them, but the Darmstadt court was not. Also, many of Graupner's cantatas exploit elaborate orchestral effects and use exotic instrumentation, such as [[chalumeau]], [[flûte d'amour]], [[oboe d'amore]], [[viola d'amore]], [[trumpet]]s, [[horn (instrument)|horn]]s and [[timpani]]. See: [[List of cantatas by Christoph Graupner]].