A piece of music written for singers with instruments playing behind them, made of several short parts one after another — some sung by one voice alone, some by a choir.

A piece of music written for singers with instruments playing behind them一首寫給歌手唱、樂器在後面伴奏的曲子，made of several short parts one after another由好幾個短短的段落一段接一段組成——some sung by one voice alone有些是一個人獨唱，some by a choir有些是合唱團唱。

Most famous cantatas are church music, written to be performed during a service; Bach wrote hundreds of them for Sunday worship. There are non-religious ones too (a wedding cantata, a coffee cantata), so "religious" is the usual case, not a rule.

Most famous cantatas are church music大部分有名的cantata都是教會音樂，written to be performed during a service寫來在禮拜中演出的；Bach wrote hundreds of them for Sunday worship巴哈為主日禮拜寫了好幾百首。There are non-religious ones too也有不是宗教性的（a wedding cantata, a coffee cantata像a wedding cantata婚禮清唱劇、a coffee cantata咖啡清唱劇），so "religious" is the usual case, not a rule所以「宗教性」只是常見情況，不是規則。

The word tells you the size and shape as much as the subject: a cantata is much shorter than an opera and has no acting, costumes or story on stage, and it is shorter and less grand than an oratorio.

The word tells you the size and shape as much as the subject這個字講的是規模和形式，不只是主題：a cantata is much shorter than an operacantata比歌劇短很多，and has no acting, costumes or story on stage而且台上沒有表演、服裝或劇情，and it is shorter and less grand than an oratorio也比神劇更短、更沒那麼盛大。

It is a specialist music word — you will meet it on concert programmes, CD covers and in music class, not in everyday talk.

It is a specialist music word這是音樂界的專門用語——you will meet it on concert programmes, CD covers and in music class你會在音樂會節目單、CD封面，和音樂課上碰到，not in everyday talk而不是在日常對話裡。