in music, signifies, in general, a song, where some little fugues are introduced: but it is sometimes used for a sort of Italian poem, usually pretty long, to which music may be composed in the style of a cantata. If this term be added to a piece of instrumental music, it signifies much the same as cantata: if placed in any part of a sonata, it implies the same meaning as allegro, and only denotes that the part to which it is prefixed is to be played or sung in a brisk and lively manner.