Cantata is described as...

• A. Story set to orchestral music to be sung by a chorus (shorter than an oratorio) written for a church service
• B. An opera with elaborate staging
• C. An instrumental suite for dance
• D. A solo aria with orchestra

Answer: (A)

Cantata is a vocal work for choir with instrumental accompaniment, organized in several movements and typically based on a religious text for performance in a church service. This description—story sung by a chorus with orchestral accompaniment and designed for liturgical use—best captures what a cantata is, especially its liturgical context and shorter scale compared to larger stage forms. It isn’t an opera, since there’s no staging or drama presented to an audience; it isn’t an instrumental suite, which would have no voices; and it isn’t a solo aria, since cantatas involve the chorus and a sequence of varied numbers rather than just a single solo piece.