motet

Definition of motetnext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of motet According to Francisco, the composers represented no less than 30 print collections of solo songs, cantatas, motets, polyphonic works, settings for psalms and masses, a magnificat, a vespers service, a dozen sonatas, and scores for nine operas and other staged works. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024 An early breakthrough came from listening to a traditional singer of the Serer people, whose plaintive melody reminded Catta of a Renaissance motet. Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2022 Philippe Herreweghe led his Ghent choir in a fine performance of Mendelssohn’s motet. Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 28 Aug. 2022 As well as hymns, a motet and a sermon, the solemn vespers would include a gigantic two-part oratorio composed by the church’s Cantor—the director of music—with a text taken from St. Matthew’s gospel. Boyd Tonkin, WSJ, 14 Apr. 2022 See All Example Sentences for motet
Recent Examples of Synonyms for motet
Noun
  • The Spiritual Sound Marc-André Hamelin, Found Objects / Sound Objects The Beths, Straight Line Was a Lie A year like no other, my 2025 in music was filled with joyous arias and madrigals of melancholy.
    Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 29 Dec. 2025
  • This is a lovely fundraiser to assist in the preservation of the cemetery, and the day is filled with master gardeners offering advice, madrigals singing, an archaeology talk, refreshments, kids’ activities and lots of lovely spring plants for sale.
    Janet Kusterer, Baltimore Sun, 25 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The future of opera may depend less on who sings the next great aria than on who feels invited to stay after the curtain falls.
    Helmut Paul, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2026
  • Once the audience is so onboard with Kyle after this intimate aria, Kaplan deflates that.
    Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 18 June 2026
Noun
  • Orff originally wrote it for tenor, that soloist’s single appearance in the cantata.
    Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 16 Aug. 2025
  • Symphony San Jose is presenting the cantata in partnership with several Chinese American organizations, promising a performance of grandeur and a call for peace in the world.
    Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 14 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Miami Beach mayor Steven Meiner even joined the chant, giving a warm welcome to the hundreds of fans waiting for tomorrow’s game.
    Delia Rose Sauer, Miami Herald, 10 July 2026
  • There’s also a daily Hawaiian chant each evening led by a mix of local experts who are happy to chat one-on-one afterwards.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 July 2026
Noun
  • In a song, a chorus returns largely unchanged, accumulating emotional force through augmentation.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 July 2026
  • The brooding, ambient track opens with a chorus of ghostly layered voices as O’Brien’s guitar breaks through a cloud ambient swirls and flourishes.
    Jaeden Pinder, Rolling Stone, 9 July 2026
Noun
  • Above one entryway, a sword is lodged in the stone, said to have found its place there in the eighth century after being thrown more than 100 miles by Roland, the hero of the medieval chanson that bears his name.
    Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2026
  • There are intoxicating traces of chanson, jazz, chamber pop, and folk.
    Pitchfork, Pitchfork, 2 Dec. 2025
Noun
  • But in keeping with its protagonist’s difficulty staring at his feelings head-on, The Vampire Lestat—and the marketing that preceded its premiere—doesn’t start with ballads or sensual odes to far-reaching love.
    Hannah Giorgis Yohannes, Vanity Fair, 13 July 2026
  • As the group grew in fame and notoriety, their sound evolved, mixing heavy metal with more emotional, dynamic ballads.
    Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
Noun
  • Later, piano slices through the fog with a supernatural three-note lullaby that springs just off the beat, racing forward through the song’s misty backdrop.
    Vanessa Ague, Pitchfork, 26 June 2026
  • Check out this 1997 live TV version of Paranoid Android, which veers from lullaby to apocalypse within the space of a few minutes.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 30 May 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Motet.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motet. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on motet

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!