CHORALE CANTATA

   German church cantata based in music and text on a Lutheran chorale melody, in several self-contained movements. In its strict sense, no text foreign to the chorale is used, and a chorale cantata per omnes versus sets all its strophes, with the same melody in varying musical textures as the melodic foundation for each movement (e.g., Cantata BWV 4 of Johann Sebastian Bach). More loosely, the term includes those cantatas that make explicit use of a chorale melody in at least one movement.