Dictionary
can•ta•ta
Pronunciation: (kun-tä'tu), [key]—
n.
1. a choral composition, either sacred and resembling a short oratorio or secular, as a lyric drama set to music but not to be acted.
2. a metrical narrative set to recitative or alternate recitative and air, usually for a single voice accompanied by one or more instruments.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.