Sinfonia

Sinfonia (IPA: [siɱfoˈniːa]; plural sinfonie) is the Italian word for symphony,^[1] 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).^[2] 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. 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.^[3]

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".^[4] Sinfonia in D major, BWV 1045 is considered to belong to a lost cantata, because its manuscript indicates that the piece had four vocal parts.^[5]

The instrumental overture to George Frideric Handel's oratorio Messiah, HWV 56, modeled on the French overture, was originally titled "Sinfony" in Händel's autograph score.^[6]

Two examples of contemporary use, long after the classical era, include Igor Stravinsky's neoclassical Octet composed in 1923, the first movement of which he titled "Sinfonia", and Benjamin Britten's requiem mass composed in 1940, titled Sinfonia da Requiem.

In the 20th and 21st centuries it is found in the names of some chamber orchestras, often pronounced with stress on the second syllable (IPA: [siɱˈfoniːa]), such as the Northern Sinfonia.^[7]