In music, a ''dictum'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

'something that has been said'; plural dicta) is a type of

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

for a

church cantata A church cantata or sacred cantata is a cantata intended to be performed during Christian liturgy. The genre was particularly popular in 18th-century Lutheran Germany, with many composers writing an extensive output: Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, ...

consisting of quotes from sacred scripture. When Erdmann Neumeister introduced the

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

concept for sacred music in early 18th-century

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Germany, his librettos originally had only two types of movements: recitatives and

aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

s. The text of these movements was the poetic (i.e., in

verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry * Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict me ...

) elaboration of some religious thought. In Neumeister's original concept both of these types of movements were to be sung by vocal soloists. Soon thereafter, for instance in a set of cantata librettos published in Meiningen in 1704, two other types of movements, both deriving from earlier genres such as

Chorale concerto In music, a chorale concerto is a short sacred composition for one or more voices and instruments, principally from the very early German Baroque era. Most examples of the genre were composed between 1600 and 1650. Description This use of the ...

and

Geistliches Konzert Sacred concerto (german: geistliches Konzert, plural , ) is a 17th-century genre of sacred music, characterized as settings of religious texts requiring both vocal soloists and obbligato instrumental forces for performance.Lutheran hymns. For these movements the composer was expected to base his setting on the tune of the hymn. The dicta were prose quotes from sacred scripture, i.e., for German church cantatas and motets of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

era, quotes from the Luther Bible. In this context a dictum can also be referred to with the German word (). Libretto authors such as Neumeister and

Benjamin Schmolck Benjamin Schmolck (21 December 1672 – 12 February 1737) was a German Lutheran writer of hymns. He was born a pastor's son in Brauchitschdorf (Chróstnik), Silesia. After attending the gymnasium in Liegnitz (Legnica), he studied theology ...

began to include dicta and chorales in their later cantata cycles. For the musical setting of dicta there was no fixed format: *

Johann Ludwig Bach Johann Ludwig Bach ( – 1 May 1731) was a German composer and violinist. He was born in Thal near Eisenach. At the age of 22 he moved to Meiningen eventually being appointed cantor there, and later Kapellmeister. He wrote a large amount of musi ...

set dicta for instance as solo aria (e.g. the opening movements of both parts of ''Ja, mir hast du Arbeit gemacht'', JLB 5), as vocal

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

(e.g. 4th movement of ''Die mit Tränen säen'', JLB 8) and as chorus (e.g. 1st movement of JLB 8) *

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

set dicta for instance as recitative (e.g. 4th movement of ''Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen'', BWV 43), as solo aria (e.g. 1st movement of ''Siehe, ich will viel Fischer aussenden'', BWV 88), as ''

Vox Christi Vox (Latin for 'voice') may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters * Vox (DC Universe character), Mal Duncan * Vox, several characters in the anime series '' Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne'' * Gleeman Vox, from the ''Ratche ...

'' solo for bass (e.g. 4th movement of ''Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot'', BWV 39), as arioso for

Evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...

and ''Vox Christi'' (e.g. 4th movement of BWV 88), as duet (e.g. 5th movement of ''Meine Seel erhebt den Herren'', BWV 10) and as chorus (e.g. first movements of BWV 10, 39, and 43, and even movements of the motet ''Jesu, meine Freude'', BWV 227)

Sources

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Notes

{{reflist Church cantatas