serenata

views updated May 18 2018

serenata (It.). Serenade.
1. Instr. serenade, as Mozart's Serenata Notturna (1776, K239).

2. 18th-cent. term for dramatic cantatas which might also be called ‘semi-operas’, such as Handel's Acis and Galatea. In 16th cent. meant a satirical polyphonic comp. of the villanelle type. Term first appeared in print in 1560 as the title of one of Alessandro Stiggio's 6-part madrigals.

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