In music, the highest singing voice part or melody line in a piece of music; the soprano line.
From Latin 'cantus' meaning 'song' or 'singing,' from 'cantare' (to sing). In medieval music theory, 'cantus' was the principal melodic line, distinguishing it from accompanying harmony parts.
When medieval composers wrote 'cantus' parts, they were essentially saying 'this is the part everyone should hear'—it's the musical equivalent of boldface text!
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