Antiphon
Antiphons are short chants with prose texts and generally simple melodies. They were sung by a soloist or the choir before and after the psalms of the medieval daily Office, which were sung by the ecclesiastical community. The medieval repertoire of antiphons is huge; most medieval Antiphoners contain in the region of 1500. The choral portions of the Introit chants of the Mass are also known as antiphons, and they alternate with a solo psalm verse (antiphon-psalm verse-antiphon).
Psalms can be performed in a variety of ways. In responsorial psalmody, a soloist sings the verses and a larger group of singers responds with the same text and melody each time. In antiphonal psalmody, two...
If you have a valid subscription to Dictionary of Hymnology, please log inlog in to view this content. If you require a subscription, please click here.
Cite this article
MLA style (see MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd Ed.)
. "Antiphon."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press. Web. 9 Dec. 2023.<
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/a/antiphon>.
Chicago style (see The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Ed.)
. "Antiphon."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press, accessed December 9, 2023,
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/a/antiphon.