Sinfonia

---

title: "Sinfonia" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["symphonies", "renaissance-music", "baroque-music", "classical-period-(music)"] description: "Type of 17th- or 18th-century orchestral piece" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinfonia" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Type of 17th- or 18th-century orchestral piece ::

Sinfonia (; plural sinfonie) is the Italian word for symphony, from the Latin symphonia, in turn derived from Ancient Greek συμφωνία symphōnia (agreement or concord of sound), from the prefix σύν (together) and Φωνή (sound). In English it most commonly refers to a 17th- or 18th-century orchestral piece used as an introduction, interlude, or postlude to an opera, oratorio, cantata, or suite (, who gives the origin of the word as Italian) . The word is also found in other Romance languages such as Spanish or Portuguese.

In the Middle Ages down to as late as 1588, it was also the Italian name for the hurdy-gurdy . Johann Sebastian Bach used the term for his keyboard compositions also known as Three-part Inventions, and after about 1800, the term, when in reference to opera, meant "Overture" .

In George Frideric Handel's oratorio Messiah (HWV 56), "Overture to the Messiah" (French Overture in E minor) was originally titled "Sinfony".

In the 20th and 21st centuries it is found in the names of some chamber orchestras, often pronounced with stress on the second syllable (), such as the Northern Sinfonia .

Sinfonias in the vocal works by Johann Sebastian Bach

::data[format=table]

Work	Movement	Related instrumental work	Movement
Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4	1
Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12	1
Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt, BWV 18	1
Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 21	1
Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV 29	1	Partita for Violin No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006	1
Geist und Seele wird verwirret, BWV 35	1		Concerto in D minor (fragment), BWV 1059
Geist und Seele wird verwirret, BWV 35	5	Probably the same lost work as BWV 35/1
Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats, BWV 42	1
Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen, BWV 49	1	Keyboard Concerto No. 2 in E major, BWV 1053	3
Falsche Welt, dir trau ich nicht, BWV 52	1	Sinfonia in F major (early version of Brandenburg Concerto No. 1), BWV 1046a	1
Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75	8
Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76	8	Organ Sonata No. 4 in E minor, BWV 528	1
Herr Gott, Beherrscher aller Dinge, BWV 120a	4	Partita for Violin No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006	1
Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal, BWV 146	1	Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052	1
Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150	1
Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn, BWV 152	1
Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe, BWV 156	1	Keyboard Concerto No. 5 in F minor, BWV 1056	2
Gott soll allein mein Herze haben, BWV 169	1	Keyboard Concerto No. 2 in E major, BWV 1053	1
Ich liebe den Höchsten von ganzem Gemüte, BWV 174	1	Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048	1
Ich habe meine Zuversicht, BWV 188	1	Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052	3
Der Herr denket an uns, BWV 196	1
Non sa che sia dolore, BWV 209	1
St John Passion (third version), BWV 245	33 (lost)
Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248	Part II, 1
Easter Oratorio, BWV 249
Entfliehet, verschwindet, entweichet, ihr Sorgen, BWV 249a	1
::

The opening movements of cantatas BWV 31 and BWV 182 are named "sonata" and the first movement of cantata BWV 106 "sonatina". Sinfonia in D major, BWV 1045 is considered a sinfonia of a lost cantata, because its manuscript indicates that the piece had four vocal parts.

Symphony with an alternative scope

Examples of such "sinfonias" composed after the classical era include:

• Vincent d'Indy wrote a Sinfonia brevis de bello Gallico, Latin for: "Short Symphony about the War in Gaul".
• Igor Stravinsky titled the first movement of his 1923 Octet "Sinfonia".
• Benjamin Britten's 1940 Sinfonia da Requiem

Sources

References

References

1. "www.bach.de {{pipe}} Werk {{pipe}} Vokalwerke {{pipe}} BWV 29".
2. "www.bach.de {{pipe}} Werk {{pipe}} Vokalwerke {{pipe}} BWV 49".
3. "www.bach.de {{pipe}} Werk {{pipe}} Vokalwerke {{pipe}} BWV 52".
4. "www.bach.de {{pipe}} Werk {{pipe}} Vokalwerke {{pipe}} BWV 76".
5. "www.bach.de {{pipe}} Werk {{pipe}} Vokalwerke {{pipe}} BWV 120a".
6. "www.bach.de {{pipe}} Werk {{pipe}} Vokalwerke {{pipe}} BWV 156".
7. "www.bach.de {{pipe}} Werk {{pipe}} Vokalwerke {{pipe}} BWV 169".
8. "www.bach.de {{pipe}} Werk {{pipe}} Vokalwerke {{pipe}} BWV 174".
9. "www.bach.de {{pipe}} Werk {{pipe}} Vokalwerke {{pipe}} BWV 188".
10. "Bach digital - Johannes-Passion [3. Fassung] BWV 245.3".
11. "www.bach.de {{pipe}} Werk {{pipe}} Vokalwerke {{pipe}} BWV 31".
12. "www.bach.de {{pipe}} Werk {{pipe}} Vokalwerke {{pipe}} BWV 182".
13. "www.bach.de {{pipe}} Werk {{pipe}} Vokalwerke {{pipe}} BWV 106".
14. "Chapter 55 Bwv 50 Bwv 200 Bwv 1045 – The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach".
15. Thomson, Andrew. (2001). "Indy, (Paul Marie Théodore) Vincent d’". Oxford University Press.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::