THE STANDARD CANTATAS THEIR STORIES, THEIR MUSIC, AND THEIR COMPOSERS A Handbook BY GEORGE P. UPTON MC CHICAGO A. C. MCCLURG AND COMPANY 土 HE "Standard Cantatas" is the third of the series in which the "Standard Operas" and "Standard Oratorios" have been its predecessors. Of necessity, therefore, the same method has been followed in the arrangement and presentation of the author's scheme. As in the works above mentioned, short sketches of the music and stories of the cantatas are presented, together with biographies of their composers, some of which are reproduced from the other volumes with slight changes, the repetitions being necessary for the sake of uniformity. The sketches are prefaced by a comprehensive study of the cantata in its various forms, from its early simple recitative or aria style down to its present elaborate construction, which sometimes verges closely upon that of the opera or oratorio. The word "cantata" is so flexible and covers such a wide area in music, that it has been a work |