of Christmas. The associated
psalm tones are indicated by number and ending pitch, and the pitches for the ending of the
doxology are indicated by vowels:
et in secula seculorum amen.|thumb]]
: This article is about the musical term. See Antiphon (person) the orator of ancient Greece.
An antiphon (Greek ἀντίφωνον, ἀντί "opposite" + φωνή "voice") in Christian music and ritual, is a "responsory" by a choir or congregation, usually in Gregorian chant, to a psalm or other text in a religious service or musical work.
This gives rise to the general term 'antiphony', which may be used for any call and response style of singing such as the kirtan and the sea shanty. Particularly, any piece of music performed by two semi-independent choirs in interaction, often singing alternate musical phrases, is known as 'antiphonal'. Antiphonal psalmody is the singing or musical playing of psalms by alternating groups of performers.
Origins
The "mirror" structure of the Hebrew
psalms renders it probable that the antiphonal method was present in the services of the ancient Israelites. According to the historian
Socrates of Constantinople, it was introduced into Christian worship by
Ignatius of Antioch (died
107) who, in a vision, had seen angels singing in alternating choirs.
Antiphons have remained an integral part of the worship in the Greek Orthodox church and the Eastern Catholic churches. The practice was not found in the Latin Church until more than two centuries later. Ambrose, bishop of Milan and Gregory the Great, the founders of Roman Catholic chant, are credited with 'antiphonaries', collections of works suitable for antiphon, that are still in use in the Roman Catholic Church today.
Polyphonic votive antiphons
Polyphonic
votive antiphons emerged in England in the fourteenth century as settings of texts honouring the
Virgin Mary separately from the
mass and
office, often after
compline. Towards the end of the fifteenth century English composers produced expanded settings for as many as nine parts with increasing complexity and vocal range. As a result antiphony remains particularly common in the
Anglican musical tradition: the choir, often divided into two equal halves on opposite sides of the
quire, is then regarded as two, termed
Decani and
Cantoris.
Greater Advent antiphons
The Greater Advent or O Antiphons are antiphons used at daily prayer in the evenings of the last days of
Advent in various
liturgical Christian traditions. Each antiphon is a name of Christ, one of his attributes mentioned in Scripture. In the
Roman Catholic tradition, they are sung or recited at
Vespers from December 17 to December 23. In the
Church of England they have traditionally been used as antiphons to the
Magnificat at
Evening Prayer. More recently they have found a place in primary liturgical documents throughout the Anglican Communion, including the
Church of England's
Common Worship liturgy. Use of the O Antiphons was preserved in Lutheranism at the
German Reformation and continues to be used in Lutheran churches.
Polychoral antiphony
When two or more groups of singers sing in alternation the style of music can also be called 'polychoral'. Specifically, this term is usually applied to music of the late
Renaissance and early
Baroque. Polychoral techniques are a definitive characteristic of the music of the
Venetian school, exemplified by the works of
Giovanni Gabrieli; this music is often known as the
Venetian polychoral style. The Venetian polychoral style was an important innovation of the late
Renaissance, and this style, with its variations as it spread across Europe after 1600, helped to define the beginning of the
Baroque era. Polychoral music was not limited to
Italy in the Renaissance; it was popular in Spain and Germany, and there are examples from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, from composers as diverse as
Hector Berlioz,
Igor Stravinsky and
Karlheinz Stockhausen.
See also
Marian antiphon
Notes
Samples
Category:Musical techniques
Category:Christian music
Category:Musical form
