清唱剧（cantata）是一种包括独唱、重唱、合唱的声乐套曲，一般包含多个乐章，大都有管弦乐伴奏。

清唱套曲包含许多个乐段，往往以序曲或者合唱开头，以合唱结尾，中间交错有伴奏的宣叙调，独唱或者重唱的咏叹调以及不同规模的合唱。

宗教清唱套曲一般比叙事性的神剧（oratorio）规模小，内容偏重抒情或论述。世俗清唱套曲则包罗万象。

A cantata [kanˈtaːta] (literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb cantare, "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir.

The meaning of the term changed over time, from the simple single voice madrigal of the early 17th century, to the multi-voice "cantata da camera" and the "cantata da chiesa" of the later part of that century, from the more substantial dramatic forms of the 18th century to the usually sacred-texted 19th-century cantata, which was effectively a type of short oratorio. Cantatas for use in the liturgy of church services are called church cantata or sacred cantata, other cantatas can be indicated as secular cantata. Several cantatas were, and still are, written for special occasions, such as Christmas cantatas. Johann Sebastian Bach composed cycles of church cantatas for the occasions of the liturgical year.