A cantilena (ital .: cantilena = song) is a lyrical melody in a polyphonic musical work. The cantilena and the entire work can be both vocal and instrumental, but an instrumental cantilena must also be vocal in character.
Usually cantilenas are sustained passages, i. H. at a slow pace and with serious expression.
Individual evidence
↑ Article Kantilene in the portal klassik-heute.com, accessed on October 17, 2018.
↑ Horst Seeger: music lexicon , Vol. 1: A - K . Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1966, p. 458.
