Serenades as a musical genre evolved from the middle ages until the Romantic period, though the medieval connotation of the word survives to the present day: originally, a serenade was an evening piece, intended to be performed by one person as a way of honoring or courting other (love serenades are a very frequent example). During the baroque era the term evolved to mean a type of celebratory cantata for a small ensemble, though it was also meant to be performed in the evening. During the classical period, serenades became multi movement ensemble work, sometimes indistinguishable from a divertimento, and featuring one or two march-like movements. The mood of the music tended ligh and casual, tuneful and less serious than symphonies.