motet
/məʊˈtet/ (bre, ipa) · /məʊˈtet/ (ame, ipa) · /mō-ˈtet/ (ame, mw)
motet — noun
1. a short choral work set to a sacred Latin text, sung in several vocal parts and
a short choral work set to a sacred Latin text, sung in several vocal parts and traditionally performed without instrumental backing.
The cathedral choir performed a Renaissance motet during the Easter evening service.
common collocation: perform a motet
Élise spent three months teaching her students a difficult Bach motet for the spring concert.
common collocation: a Bach / Palestrina motet
Each motet in the collection was written for four voices singing in close harmony.
Darius listened carefully as the singers wove the lines of a 16th-century motet together.
The composer wrote her first motet for an unaccompanied choir of twelve singers.
- anthem
the English-language Protestant equivalent; typically sung in English, while a motet uses Latin
- cantata
longer multi-movement work with instrumental accompaniment, while a motet is short and traditionally unaccompanied
- chorale
a Protestant hymn tune, usually homophonic and congregational, unlike the polyphonic, choir-only motet
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Almost always singular and countable, and almost always preceded by a defining detail such as the composer's name (a Palestrina motet), the period (a Renaissance motet), or the number of voices (a six-part motet).