: a polyphonic choral composition on a sacred text usually without instrumental accompaniment
Examples of motet in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebRepetition with fidelity led, with the aid of print, to longer organized forms such as the motet, a vocal music composition, and the conductus, a Latin song with a rhythmic structure.—Lynn Whidden, Scientific American, 26 July 2024 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 In Alium, the famous 40-part motet.—Corey Seymour, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2021 In between the driving turbulence of its first movement and an unremittingly grim passacaglia as its final movement was an adaptation of a medieval form—the isorhythmic motet—in which searing gestures alternated with passages of ethereal tranquility.—Walter Simmons, Harper's Magazine, 25 May 2021 See all Example Sentences for motet
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'motet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Middle French, diminutive of mot
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