serenata

[ ser-uh-nah-tuh ]

/ ˌsɛr əˈnɑ tə /

a form of secular cantata, often of a dramatic or imaginative character.

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

Origin of serenata

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

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

Life Of Mozart, Vol. 2 (of 3) |Otto Jahn
Then Nora's sweet, high soprano voice began the "Serenata" to the subdued tinkling accompaniment of Reddy's mandolin.

Grace Harlowe's Third Year at Overton College |Jessie Graham Flower
He also provided a secular entertainment in the shape of Parnaso in festa, described as a serenata.

Handel |Edward J. Dent
Only two arias of the Serenata are still wanting, and then it will be finished.

The Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Vol. 1 |Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

In 1743 was written the serenata Solomon, in which occurs the favourite song “Softly rise, O southern breeze.”

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 3 |Various

serenata

/ (ˌsɛrɪˈnɑːtə) /

an 18th-century cantata, often dramatic in form

another word for serenade

C18: from Italian; see serenade