This article is about the musical form. See Serenade (disambiguation) for other meanings.

"Serenade" by Judith Leyster. Judith Jans Leyster (also Leijster) ( July 28 1609 – February 10, 1660) was a Dutch artist who worked in a various

In music, a serenade (or sometimes serenata) is, in its most general sense, a musical composition, and/or performance, in someone's honor. There are three general categories of serenade in music history.

1) In the oldest usage, which survives in informal form to the present day, a serenade is a composition performed for a lover, friend, or other person to be honored, typically in the evening and often below a window. The custom of serenading in this manner began in the Medieval era or Renaissance, and the word "serenade" as commonly used in current English is related to this custom. The term medieval music encompasses European music written during the Middle Ages. Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 - 1600 English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Music performed followed no one particular form, except that it was typically sung by one person accompanying himself on a portable instrument, for example a guitar. Works of this type also appeared in later eras, but usually in a context that referred specifically to a past time, such as an arias in an opera (there is a famous example in Mozart's Don Giovanni). This article is about the musical term "aria" For other meanings or uses of the word see Aria (disambiguation. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto Don Giovanni ( K527; complete title Il dissoluto punito ossia il Don Giovanni, literally "The Rake Punish'd or Don Giovanni

2) In the Baroque era, and generally called a Serenata (Italian "serenade"--since this form occurred most frequently in Italy), a serenade was a type of cantata performed outdoors, in the evening, with mixed vocal and instrumental forces. Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest A cantata (derived from the Italian word 'cantare' meaning 'to sing' is a vocal composition with an instrumental Accompaniment and often Some composers of this type of serenade include Alessandro Stradella, Alessandro Scarlatti, Johann Joseph Fux, Johann Mattheson, and Antonio Caldara. Alessandro Stradella ( 3 April, 1639 - February 25, 1682) was an Italian composer of the middle Baroque. Alessandro Scarlatti (May 2 1660 &ndash October 24 1725 was an Italian Baroque Composer especially famous for his Operas and chamber Cantatas Johann Joseph Fux ( pronounced) (1660 &ndash 13 February 1741 was an Austrian composer music theorist and pedagogue of the late Baroque era Johann Mattheson (September 28 1681 &ndash April 17 1764 was a German composer writer Lexicographer, diplomat Antonio Caldara (1670 or 1671 - December 26, 1736) was an Italian Baroque Composer. Usually these were large-scale works performed with minimal staging, intermediate between a cantata and an opera. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto According to some commentators, the main difference between a cantata and a serenata, around 1700, was that the serenata was performed outdoors and therefore could use instruments which would be too loud in a small room--for example trumpets, horns and drums. The drum is a member of the percussion group technically classified as a Membranophone.

3) The most important and prevalent type of serenade in music history is a work for large instrumental ensemble in multiple movements, related to the divertimento, and mainly being composed in the Classical and Romantic periods, though a few examples exist from the 20th century. Divertimento (from italian divertire - to amuse is a music genre with most of its examples stemming from the 18th century The dates of the Classical period in Western music are generally accepted as 1750 to 1810 Romantic Music is a Musicological term referring to a particular period theory compositional practice and canon in European music history from about 1815 to 1910 The twentieth century of the Common Era began on Usually the character of the work is lighter than other multiple-movement works for large ensemble (for example the symphony), with tunefulness being more important than thematic development or dramatic intensity. A symphony is a Musical composition, often extended and usually for Orchestra. Most of these works are from Italy, Germany, Austria and Bohemia. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Bohemia (Čechy; Bohemia Czechy is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands, currently the

The most famous examples of the serenade from the 18th century are undoubtedly the ones by Mozart, which are works in more than four movements, and sometimes as many as ten. The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system The most typical ensemble for a serenade was a wind ensemble augmented with basses and violas: instrumentalists who could stand, since the works were often performed outdoors. The double bass is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed String instrument used in the modern symphony orchestra. The viola is a bowed String instrument. It is the middle voice of the Violin family, Frequently the serenades began and ended with movements of a marchlike character--since the instrumentalists often had to march to and from the place of performance. Famous serenades by Mozart include the Haffner Serenade (which he later reworked as the Haffner Symphony, no. Symphony No 35 in D major, K 385 was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1782 and is also called the Haffner Symphony. 35), and one of his most famous works, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, which is atypical for only containing string instruments. The Serenade No 13 for strings in G major, K 525 more commonly known as Eine kleine Nachtmusik ("a small serenade" -- rendered more literally A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a Musical instrument that produces Sound by means of Vibrating strings In the Hornbostel-Sachs

By the 19th century, the serenade had transformed into a concert work, less associated with outdoor performance for honorary occasions, and composers began to write serenades for other ensembles. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The two serenades by Brahms are rather like light symphonies, except that they use an ensemble Mozart would have recognized: a small orchestra (in the case of the Serenade No. Johannes Brahms ( pronounced ˈbʁaːms (May 7 1833 &ndash April 3 1897 was a German Composer 2, an orchestra entirely without violins). The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, Josef Suk and others wrote serenades for strings only, as did Hugo Wolf, who wrote one for string quartet (the Italian Serenade). Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( (often pronounced in English as; DVOR-zhahk; September 8 1841 – May 1 1904 was a Czech composer of Romantic music, who employed Josef Suk (4 January 1874 &ndash 29 May 1935 was a Czech Composer and Violinist Life Suk was born in Křečovice. Hugo Wolf (March 13 1860 – February 22 1903 was an Austrian Composer of Slovene origin particularly noted for his art songs or Lieder. Other composers to write serenades in a Romantic style include Richard Strauss, Max Reger, Edward Elgar and Jean Sibelius. Richard Georg Strauss (11 June 1864 &ndash 8 September 1949 was a German Composer of the late Romantic era and early modern era particularly noted Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger ( March 19 1873 &ndash May 11 1916) was a German Composer, conductor

Some examples of serenades in the 20th century include the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings by Benjamin Britten, the Serenade for piano by Stravinsky, Serenade for baritone and septet Op. The Serenade for Tenor Horn and Strings is a Song cycle written in 1943 by the English Composer Benjamin Britten, scored for Edward Benjamin Britten Baron Britten, OM CH (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976 was an English Composer, conductor, The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Игорь Фёдорович Стравинский) ( &ndash 6 April 1971 was a Russian born Composer, considered by many to This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type. A septet is a formation containing exactly seven members It is commonly associated with musical groups but can be applied to any situation where seven similar or related objects are considered 24 by Arnold Schoenberg, and the movement entitled "Serenade" in Shostakovich's last string quartet, No. 15 (1974). Arnold Schoenberg ( pronounced ˈʃøːnbɛrk (13 September 1874 &ndash 13 July 1951 was an Austrian and later American Composer, associated with Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich ( Russian: ru Дмитрий Дмитриевич Шостакович ( &ndash 9 August 1975 was a Russian Composer The String Quartet No 15 in E flat minor ( opus 144 was Dmitri Shostakovich 's last quartet.

Sources

• The New Harvard Dictionary of Music, ed. Don Randel. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1986. ISBN 0-674-61525-5
• Articles "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart", "Serenade," "Serenata," in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd. , 1980. ISBN 1-56159-174-2

A Latin America example of the serenata, or serenade can be found here: http://www.theserenata.com