Sacred vocal music featuring soloists and/or a choir and sometimes instruments, based not on a Mass, oratorio or cantata, but on a Roman Gradual text (e.g. an antiphon or Te Deum). The grand motet was a French invention served up on grand occasions, featuring a large number of musicians, a large and a small choir, and a full orchestra. The petit motet is limited to a handful of singers, a continuo and occasionally a few instruments.
