A responsory or respond is a type of chant in western Christian liturgies .
26-504: The most general definition of a responsory is any psalm, canticle , or other sacred musical work sung responsorially, that is, with a cantor or small group singing verses while the whole choir or congregation respond with a refrain. However, this article focuses on those chants of the western Christian tradition that have traditionally been designated by the term responsory. In the Roman Rite and rites strongly influenced by it, such as
52-612: A boy) Excita Domine potentiam tuam et veni ut salvos facias nos (Stir up your power O Lord and come that you may save us) Partial respond (sung by the choir) Qui regnaturus es in populo Israel. (O you who are to reign over the people of Israel.) Half-doxology (sung by all three boys) Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto (Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost) Partial respond (sung by
78-474: A night-vision, and behold, the Son of Man was coming on the clouds of heaven: and sovereignty and honor were given him: and every people and tribe, and all languages shall serve him.) Verse: (sung by the cantor) Potestas eius, potestas aeterna, quae non auferetur: et regnum eius, quod non corrumpetur. (His might is an everlasting might which will not be taken away; and his reign is an everlasting reign, which shall not be broken.) Partial respond: (sung by
104-721: A number of Canticles taken from the Old Testament. Prior to the Pope Pius X 's 1911 reforms , the following cycle of seven Old Testament Canticles was used at Lauds : These are rather long, and the weekday ones display something of a penitential theme, but some were not often used, as all feasts and the weekdays in Eastertide had the Canticle of Daniel, assigned to Sunday. The 1911 reform introduced for weekdays not of penitential nature, and for lesser feasts and days of
130-660: A setting by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina of the Nunc dimittis (free score of the Nunc dimittis here on CPDL ) - and not of the Magnificat as stated by the editors. The structure of the Willcocks/Rutter arrangement, however, differs somewhat from what is shown above since it does not repeat the refrain after each verse in the traditional English way. For example, in the traditional English form (shown above) after
156-543: A short refrain inserted between each verse. Eventually, short verses ( troparia ) were composed to replace these refrains, a process traditionally inaugurated by Saint Andrew of Crete . Gradually over the centuries, the verses of the Biblical Canticles were omitted (except for the Magnificat) and only the composed troparia were read, linked to the original canticles by an Irmos . During Great Lent however,
182-748: A third repetition of all or part of the respond. As an example, here is the responsory Aspiciebam, which in the Sarum Rite (the medieval rite of Salisbury Cathedral in England ) followed the second reading, which was from the first chapter of the Book of Isaiah , at the night office ( Matins ) on the first Sunday of Advent : Respond: (started by the cantor and continued by the whole choir) Aspiciebam in visu noctis, et ecce in nubibus caeli Filius hominis veniebat: et datum est ei regnum, et honor: * Et omnis populus, tribus, et linguae servient ei. (I saw in
208-584: Is used. These follow a weekly cycle, with some exceptions. Additionally, the following Canticles from the Gospel of Luke (also called the “Evangelical Canticles”) are said daily: This usage is also followed by Lutheran churches. In the Church of England , Morning and Evening Prayer according to the Book of Common Prayer make extensive use of canticles, specifically those below and also in some enumerations,
234-750: The Old Testament each day at Lauds , "each weekday of the four-week cycle [has] its own proper canticle and on Sunday the two sections of the Canticle of the Three Children may be alternated". The liturgy prior to the reform after Vatican II used fourteen Old Testament Canticles in two weekly cycles. At Vespers according to the Liturgy of the Hours , a Canticle from the New Testament
260-963: The Venite (Psalm 95) . Nonetheless, the only text called a canticle in the rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer is the Benedicite, while the Song of Solomon is called the Canticles in the Lectionary. In the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches there are nine Biblical Canticles (or Odes) that are chanted at Matins . These form the basis of the Canon , a major component of Matins. The nine Canticles are as follows: Originally, these Canticles were chanted in their entirety every day, with
286-608: The Middle Ages. Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed 19 Repons (H 111 - 119, H 126 - 134 and H 144). Max Reger composed twenty Responsories for choir a cappella in 1911. The example of the Willcocks/Rutter setting of Aspiciens a longe shows that multi-voice settings of responsories have continued to be made in modern times also. Responsories for Holy Week set to music, for instance by Carlo Gesualdo ( Op. 15 ) and by Jan Dismas Zelenka ( ZWV 55): Maundy Thursday : Good Friday : Holy Saturday : Canticle In
SECTION 10
#1732780975974312-629: The Peace Hour): Daniel 3:29-34, Luke 2:29-32, Luke 1:16-55. This list does not take into account citations of these texts in the Divine Liturgy (Armenian: Պատարագ patarag ) or in the movable Old Testament verse material or in hymnody. In the Coptic Orthodox Church there are four Biblical Canticles (or ϩⲱⲥ (hos, literally praise/song)) that are chanted during midnight praises . The fourth of these canticles
338-411: The cantor then taken up by the entire choir. The verse is then sung by a cantor or a small group; or the verse can be begun by the cantor and continued by the entire choir. The chant concludes with a repetition of all or part of the respond. Sometimes the second repetition of the respond is followed by a half- doxology , Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto , sung by the cantor, followed in turn by
364-469: The choir) Et omnis populus, tribus, et linguae servient ei. (And every people and tribe, and all languages shall serve him.) Most responsories have a single verse, but a few have multiple verses. One of the most famous of the latter is the responsory Aspiciens a longe, sung on the first Sunday of Advent after the first reading in the night office of the Latin secular (non-monastic) rite. The version that
390-401: The choir) In populo Israel. (In the people of Israel.) The three boys then sang Aspiciens a longe whereupon the choir took up the full respond: et ecce video Dei potentian venientem et nebulam totam terram tegentem. Ite obviam ei et dicite, Nuntia nobis si tu es ipse qui regnaturus es in populo Israel. (I look from afar, and behold I see the power of God coming, and a cloud covering
416-730: The context of Christian liturgy , a canticle (from the Latin canticulum , a diminutive of canticum , "song") is a psalm -like song with biblical lyrics taken from elsewhere than the Book of Psalms , but included in psalters and books such as the breviary . Of special importance to the Divine Office are three New Testament Canticles that are the climaxes of the Offices of Lauds , Vespers and Compline ; these are respectively Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79), Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) and Nunc dimittis (Luke 2:29-32). There are also
442-661: The first verse, the choir sings all the words of the refrain from ite obviam ei to the end. In the Willcocks/Rutter arrangement, on the other hand, after the first verse the choir sings (in English translation) only the portion of the refrain corresponding to the Latin words ite obviam ei et dicite. Traditionally responsories are sung in Gregorian chant . The refrains are free compositions. The verses are ordinarily sung to standard tones, though there are exceptions to this. Polyphonic settings of parts of responsories survive from
468-491: The lesser octaves, the following Canticles: For weekdays in Advent , Pre-Lent , Lent and the quarterly Ember Days , if not superseded by higher-ranking feasts—due to the multitude of feasts in the rest of the year, these make up almost the totality of the days that did not have the Canticle of Daniel before—the original seven Canticles would still be used. The Liturgy of the Hours (introduced in 1971) uses one canticle from
494-522: The musical tone of the day. These are, along with their respective portions of the Psalter and their tones: Note that Psalms 148-150 and Psalm 151 are not part of this system because they are read every day at the Morning Hour, following the canticles presented below. At the Morning Hour (Armenian: Յառաւուտու Ժամ haṟavoutou zham ), corresponding to Lauds, the following canticles are fixed parts of
520-404: The one who is to reign over the people of Israel.) 1st verse (sung by a boy) Quique terrigenae et filii hominum simul in unum dives et pauper (Whoever are earth-born, the sons of men, together in one rich and poor) Partial respond (sung by the choir) Ite obviam ei et dicite, Nuntia nobis si tu es ipse qui regnaturus es in populo Israel. (Go out to meet him and say, tell us if you are
546-406: The one who is to reign over the people of Israel.) 2nd verse (sung by a boy) Qui regis Israel intende, qui deducis velut ovem Joseph (Hear, O shepherd of Israel, who leadest Joseph like a sheep) Partial respond (sung by the choir) Nuntia nobis si tu es ipse qui regnaturus es in populo Israel. (Tell us if you are the one who is to reign over the people of Israel.) 3rd verse (sung by
SECTION 20
#1732780975974572-485: The original Biblical Canticles are still read. Another Biblical Canticle, the Nunc Dimittis ( Luke 2:29–32 ), is either read or sung at Vespers . At Matins (or Midnight Hour; Armenian: Ի մէջ Գիշերի i mej gisheri ), one canticle from the Old Testament is sung, associated with a reading from the Psalter, followed by hymns according to tone, season, and feast. There are eight such canticles which are determined by
598-450: The pre-reformation English rite and the monastic rite of the Rule of St. Benedict , these chants ordinarily follow readings at services of the Divine Office (also called the Liturgy of the Hours ); however, they have also been used as processional chants. A responsory has two parts: a respond (or refrain), and a verse. Methods of performance vary, but typically the respond will be begun by
624-730: The service each day: Following the Song of the Three Youths and the Prayer of Simeon there are sets of hymns as well as other texts which are proper to the commemoration of the day or of the liturgical season. In the other hours, sections of these and other canticles are included in fixed material, consisting of amalgams of verse material from the Old Testament: Ninth Hour: a citation of Daniel 3:35; Peace Hour (after Vespers): Isaiah 8:9–10 , Isaiah 9:26 ; Rest Hour (after
650-534: The whole earth. Go out to meet him and say, tell us if you are the one who is to reign over the people of Israel.) This responsory, Aspiciens a longe, has become familiar in the English-speaking world in an arrangement published in the second volume of Carols for Choirs edited by David Willcocks and John Rutter , where it is given the title "Matin Responsory", and is set to music adapted from
676-418: Was sung in the medieval rite of Salisbury cathedral was worded as follows: Respond: Aspiciens a longe et ecce video Dei potentiam venientem et nebulam totam terram tegentem. Ite obviam ei et dicite, Nuntia nobis si tu es ipse qui regnaturus es in populo Israel. (I look from afar, and behold I see the power of God coming, and a cloud covering the whole earth. Go out to meet him and say, tell us if you are
#973026