sonata da camera

church sonata sonata da chiesa, (Italian: “church sonata”) a type of sonata, most commonly a Baroque instrumental work with several (often four) movements, originally thought appropriate for church. The designation was not universal; such works were often labeled simply sonata.

The term sonata da chiesa was originally used in its literal meaning of “church music” but later came to be used figuratively to contrast this genre of composition with the sonata da camera, which literally meant “chamber music” but generally comprised a suite of dances.

Sonata da camera is literally translated to mean “chamber sonata” and is used to describe a group of instrumental pieces set into three or four different movements, beginning with a prelude, or small sonata, acting as an introduction for the following movements.

Suite designates a collection of pieces around a particular theme or purpose. Sonata is a specific musical structure involving a multipart composition in which the first movement (typically) is in sonata form. Partita is similar to a suite, but generally consists of dance-style music.

In relation to classical music, sonata means the piece is performed by an instrument typically a piano or another instrument accompanied by a piano – rather than being something that is performed vocally (the term 'cantata' is used to describe a piece that is sung).

Sonata (/səˈnɑːtə/; Italian: [soˈnaːta], pl. sonate; from Latin and Italian: sonare [archaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by suonare], "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian cantare, "to sing"), a piece sung.

Sonata da camera is a type of trio sonata intended for secular performance. It is an instrumental work of the Baroque period, in three or more stylized dance movements (sometimes with a prefatory movement), scored for one or more melody instruments and basso continuo.

Deriving from the past participle of the Italian verb sonare, “to sound,” the term sonata originally denoted a composition played on instruments, as opposed to one that was cantata, or “sung,” by voices. Its first such use was in 1561, when it was applied to a suite of dances for lute.

The basic elements of sonata form are three: exposition, development, and recapitulation, in which the musical subject matter is stated, explored or expanded, and restated.

You see, a sonata is a piece, usually in several movements, that has a certain basic musical form; and when that form is used in a piece for a solo instrument, like a piano, or violin or flute, or a solo instrument with piano accompaniment, the piece is called a sonata.

suite, in music, a group of self-contained instrumental movements of varying character, usually in the same key. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the period of its greatest importance, the suite consisted principally of dance movements.

sonata, type of musical composition, usually for a solo instrument or a small instrumental ensemble, that typically consists of two to four movements, or sections, each in a related key but with a unique musical character.