Anthem
The Anglican English motet, in full and verse forms
Related
An anthem is the English choral piece for Anglican worship, the counterpart of the Latin motet: its text comes from the Bible or a prayer and is sung by the choir.
It takes two basic shapes: the full anthem, sung throughout by the choir and often contrapuntal, and the verse anthem, which alternates soloists or a small group with the full choir, accompanied by organ or instruments. Byrd, Gibbons, Purcell and Handel's coronation anthems are landmarks.
An anthem is not a national anthem, nor any religious song: it is a fixed genre of the Church of England liturgy. Its difference from the motet lies mainly in language and liturgical belonging.
Sources
- 英国圣公会赞美歌的全唱与交替形式、代表作曲家，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Anthem"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.