Music is around us. On a variety of gadgets, people perform musical acts, sing, and play instruments. What is music, and how is it made? Music is a way of putting sounds and tones tighter in order, combining them to create organized sound.
People have made music for thousands of years, at first only with their voices and with simple instruments made from natural materials around them. It’s conceivable that generations have passed down musical traditions.
Eventually, later generations wanted to understand the ideas behind the better sounds. That is how music theory developed, as Aristotle said that it is difficult to determine the nature of music or why anyone should know it.
A cantata typically has religious content, but unlike an oratorio, it doesn’t tell a story. A cantata is a piece of sacred music used in various religious services. Typically, an oratorio is a concert piece.
Read this blog post and discover more about the differences between these two terminologies.
Music Theory
Music theory is the term for ideas that help us to understand music. It explains what music does and, what happens when we hear it, where it can be studied and passed on to others.
So, music theory means understanding the language of music. Making music is fundamental to human nature; you don’t need music classes to be a musician. But understanding music theory can help you better ideas of music.
Rhythm, Melody, And Harmony
Music theory involves many concepts and terms. Among the most fundamental are rhythm, harmony, and melody.
Rhythm is a pattern of movement in sound that is repeated. It is divided into segments of sound known as beats and can be either rapid or slow. The music moves because of rhythm.
Melody is the group of notes or series of patches that form the tune or primary voice of music.
Multiple note lines that complement the melody are referred to as harmony. They enhance its interest without ever taking over.
Harmony is often composed of chords, groups of three more notes played simultaneously. Chords give colors to harmony and melody. Melody and harmony are written using scale.
A scale is a collection of notes in an octave or eight-note group that are either rising or descending.
Musical Instruments
A piece of equipment made specifically to produce musical sounds is called a musical instrument. The type of such instruments, classified by the method of producing sounds, are percussion, keyboard, wind, string, plate, and electronic.
Stringed musical instruments produce a musical sound through the vibration of stretched strings. An example of a stringed musical instrument is a veena.
Wind musical instruments produce musical sounds by the vibration of air columns inside them. An example of a wind musical instrument is the flute.
Percussion musical instruments produce musical sounds by vibrations of a thin stretched membrane (or stretched skin). An example of this instrument is the tabla.
Plate’s musical instruments produce sound by the vibration of thick plates (or objects made of the plate).
Types of Music
Music is one of the basic forms of human artistic expression.
There are so many styles, genres, subgenres, and music traditions to list here, but there are three primary categories of music, western music, folk music, and popular music.
Western Music
These types of music refer to the family of styles and genres developed from Western art music and classical traditions. This music category is sometimes referred to as classical music.
Western art music is characterized by sophisticated compositional virtuosity by individual musicians. Use of standardized musical notations and connotation through the privileged of Europe. Indeed, this last element is the most outstanding feature.
Since the Middle Ages onwards, Western art music has been situated as the intellectual, culturally sophisticated alternative to the folk and dance music of the commonality.
The specific musicians were not members of the European nobility. They were subsidized and made music for either the aristocracy or the church.
Traditional Music
This music is generally traditional and rural. It is not a genre but a process through which music is produced.
It isn’t composed by any individual; instead, it’s produced by a community over a while. Traditional music is constantly changing with the addition of new elements. This is the traditional music of any particular ethnic group or community passed through informal means from one generation to the next.
So today, you will have information about music and instruments. But we will focus on the difference between a cantata and an oratorio. But before we begin the difference part, let’s introduce you to what a cantata and an oratorio are.
What Is Cantata?
The word cantata originates from the Italian word Can tare, which means to sing.
Cantata is usually a short composition featuring several moments and a story or element from the bible, but it also has secular content or methodological stories.
This is in contrast to a sonata (Italian sonar meaning sound). Composers require the work to be executed by instruments, and now in the modern era, it is performed by a combination of instruments and voice.
Cantata used for the liturgy of church services are called church cantata or sacred cantata.
Where Did The Cantata Originate?
It was developed in Italy by the Italian composer Alessandro Grande; he was the first musician to use the word cantata in a concert. His aria for solo voice first appeared in 1620 and was published in 1629.
In the 17th century, cantata developed the tradition of secular music.
Characteristics Of Cantata
It is a musical composition for vocalists that include musical instruments. This composition is structured as a recitative, with an aria, a solo voice part, repeated in between.
In the cantata, the human voice has a limited range, and different voice types usually cannot sing pitches outside their specific range.
Example Of Cantata
Giacomo Carissimi (church music) is a fine example of a cantata.
An Oratorio
An oratorio is a significant musical composition featuring religious them from the orchestra, chorus, and solo voice.
In this type of music, the text is based on scripture and supplies, and the narration is necessary to move from scene to scene by narratives sung and prepare the way for choruses and airs.
The successful oratorio is based on the dramatic method though it may be produced with dramatic action. Most were narratives taken from the Bible and arranged into musical prose.
Because they were developed in Italy, specifically in the Roman Catholic Church, the oratorio’s text was originally Latin or Italian.
The oratorio used a narrative singer to help tell the story; this was probably helpful to whoever wrote the oratorio since there aren’t many speaking roles in the Bible. Although this was based on sacred themes, they were performed in the church and often performed in concert halls and seldom in noble courts.
Where Did The Oratorio Originate?
The oratorio originated in the mid-1500s. It was the latest iteration of Catholic sacred music.
It was a descendant of the famous musical plays during the counter-reformation. The word oratorio derives from the oratory of the roman church in the mid-16th century.
The top schools of oratorios are the Italians. St. Phillip Nery (moral musical entertainment) was derived from a sermon; hence the two-act form common in early Italian oratorio.
Characteristics Of Oratorio
Oratorio is performed in churches; it is also absolute music because there is no destruction of costumes, lighting, and character development.
Oratorio only has four singers Sopron, Alto, Tenor, and Bass.
The common language used is Latin or Italian. But there are several other oratorios written in different languages.
The most significant composer of oratorio Marc-Antoine Charpentier was in France, and Giacomo Caris Simi was in Italy.
Difference Between A Cantata And An Oratorio
Cantata and oratorios are both semi-dramatic works for voices and orchestra as a musical form developed in Rome around 1600. A musical setting or a religious text in a dramatic form but without scenery or costume contains a strong storyline.
Let’s look at some of their differences.
| Features | A cantata | An oratorio |
| Performing contexts | It was usually performed in a religious setting (such as church events) | It is usually a more dramatic performance, and they were performed in concerts. |
| Size | They are smaller and determined by the composition and perform the solo vocalist, including instrumental accessories. | They are lengthier and perform with orchestra, chores, and solo singers; generally, it is religious. |
| Structure | It is more dramatic. And more complex to understand. | It has joyful and interactive scene settings. |
| Services | Use for worship services. | It is a religious concert performance, occasionally performed in churches. |
| People contained | Some sections contain Aries, Recitatives, Choruses, and instrumentals. | They contain Aries, chorus. An instrumental section. |
Conclusion
- An oratorio and a cantata are sung in dramatic performances from the Baroque era. They feature recitative, arias, chores, and duets.
- The oratorio is a long continuous religious performance in churches and concert halls. The cantata is shorter secular work and larger sacred songs and music.
- A cantata comprises five to nine movements that tell a sacred or secular story. On the other side, an oratorio has a vast team to perform with instruments; they generally have a religious nature or story from the Bible.