serenata

[ ser-uh-nah-tuh ]

noun,plural ser·e·na·tas, ser·e·na·te [ser-uh-nah-tey]. /ˌsɛr əˈnɑ teɪ/. Music.
  1. a form of secular cantata, often of a dramatic or imaginative character.

  2. an instrumental composition in several movements, intermediate between the suite and the symphony.

Origin of serenata

1
1715–25; <Italian serenata evening song, equivalent to seren(o) serene + -ata noun suffix, associated with sera evening; cf. soiree

Words Nearby serenata

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use serenata in a sentence

  • In form the serenata resembles those written for the complete orchestra.

  • He therefore begged him to write a serenata without delay, for the time was approaching when it was to be performed.

  • He also provided a secular entertainment in the shape of Parnaso in festa, described as a serenata.

    Handel | Edward J. Dent
  • In 1743 was written the serenata Solomon, in which occurs the favourite song “Softly rise, O southern breeze.”

  • He gave also for the marriage ftes the serenata, Parnasso in festa, and a revised form of Pastor Fido, with choruses.

    Handel | Romain Rolland

British Dictionary definitions for serenata

serenata

/ (ˌsɛrɪˈnɑːtə) /


noun
  1. an 18th-century cantata, often dramatic in form

  2. another word for serenade

Origin of serenata

1
C18: from Italian; see serenade

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012