Etsi thalamus parvus est, epithalamium ibi cantatur.

Etsi means although, even though, or though. It introduces a concessive clause: a clause that presents a fact that might seem to go against what follows.

So in this sentence:

• Etsi thalamus parvus est = Although the bridal chamber is small

That sets up a contrast with the main clause:

• epithalamium ibi cantatur = the wedding song is sung there

Latin commonly uses etsi with the indicative, as it does here.

Because parvus must agree with thalamus.

Here:

• thalamus is masculine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective describing it must also be:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

That gives parvus.

If the noun were neuter nominative singular, then you would expect parvum instead.

Thalamus is nominative singular.

You can tell because it is the subject of est in the clause thalamus parvus est.

A simple way to read the clause is:

• thalamus = subject
• parvus = predicate adjective describing the subject
• est = is

So: the bridal chamber is small.

Yes. Thalamus is a Greek loanword, but in Latin it behaves like a regular second-declension masculine noun in -us.

So a learner can treat it much like other masculine second-declension nouns in basic grammar. Its Greek origin is interesting, but for reading this sentence, the key point is simply that it is:

• masculine
• nominative singular
• the subject of est

Here epithalamium is nominative singular neuter.

It is the subject of the passive verb cantatur:

• epithalamium cantatur = the wedding song is sung

A beginner may hesitate because epithalamium could also be accusative singular in another sentence, since many neuter nouns have the same form in nominative and accusative singular. But here the verb is passive, so epithalamium is the thing being sung and therefore the grammatical subject.

Because Latin is expressing is sung, not sings.

• cantat = sings active
• cantatur = is sung passive

So:

• epithalamium cantatur = the wedding song is sung

If the sentence used the active, the subject would have to be the singer, not the song.

Cantatur is:

• present tense
• passive voice
• third person singular

from the verb cantare = to sing

So it means is sung or is being sung.

Breaking it down:

• canta- = verb stem
• -tur = the usual ending for third person singular passive in the present system

Ibi means there. It is an adverb, not a noun.

Because it is an adverb, it does not need a preposition. It simply tells you the place where the action happens:

• ibi cantatur = it is sung there

English also does this with there.

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because the endings show the grammatical relationships.

So all of these are grammatically possible with roughly the same basic meaning:

• epithalamium ibi cantatur
• ibi epithalamium cantatur
• cantatur ibi epithalamium

The chosen order may reflect emphasis, rhythm, or style. In this sentence, ibi sits naturally between the subject and the verb, but there is nothing strange about that in Latin.

In normal prose, Latin usually includes est in a sentence like this:

• thalamus parvus est = the chamber is small

Latin can sometimes omit forms of to be, especially in poetry or in very compressed style, but in ordinary prose est is perfectly normal and expected.

So this sentence is straightforward and standard.

Usually etsi takes the indicative, especially when the speaker presents the concessive clause as a real fact.

That is exactly what happens here:

• Etsi thalamus parvus est = Although the chamber is small

The sentence treats the smallness of the chamber as a fact, so the indicative est is used.

The sentence has two parts:

1. Etsi thalamus parvus est

   • concessive subordinate clause
   • Although the chamber is small

2. epithalamium ibi cantatur

   • main clause
   • the wedding song is sung there

So the overall structure is:

• Although X is true, Y still happens.

That is a very common pattern in both Latin and English.

Yes: they belong to different genders, and that matters.

• thalamus = masculine
• epithalamium = neuter

That is why:

• parvus agrees with thalamus, not epithalamium
• epithalamium can be nominative singular with the same form it would have in the accusative singular, because it is neuter

So even though the words may look somewhat similar, you should not assume they work the same way.

A simple Classical-style pronunciation would be approximately:

EH-tsee THA-la-moos PAR-woos est, eh-pi-tha-LA-mee-um EE-bee kan-TAH-toor

A few helpful points:

• c in cantatur is always hard, like k
• v in Classical pronunciation is closer to w
• th in learned Greek loanwords was originally an aspirated t, though many learners just say t or English-style th
• stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable if it is heavy; otherwise on the third-to-last

You do not need perfect pronunciation to understand the grammar, but these patterns are useful to know.