A responsory or respond is a type of chant in western Christianliturgies.
Definition
The most general 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 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 ; however, they have also been used as processional chants.
Structure and performance
A responsory has two parts: a respond, and a verse. Methods of performance vary, but typically the respond will be begun by 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 a third repetition of all or part of the respond. As an example, here is the responsory Aspiciebam, which in the Sarum Rite followed the second reading, which was from the first chapter of the Book of Isaiah, at the night office on the first Sunday of Advent: Respond: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. Verse:Potestas eius, potestas aeterna, quae non auferetur: et regnum eius, quod non corrumpetur. Partial respond:Et omnis populus, tribus, et linguae servient ei. 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 rite. The version that 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. 1st verseQuique terrigenae et filii hominum simul in unum dives et pauper Partial respondIte obviam ei et dicite, Nuntia nobis si tu es ipse qui regnaturus es in populo Israel. 2nd verseQui regis Israel intende, qui deducis velut ovem Joseph Partial respond Nuntia nobis si tu es ipse qui regnaturus es in populo Israel. 3rd verseExcita Domine potentiam tuam et veni ut salvos facias nos Partial respondQui regnaturus es in populo Israel. Half-doxologyGloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto Partial respondIn populo 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. 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 a setting by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina of the Nunc dimittis - 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 after 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 only the portion of the refrain corresponding to the Latin wordsite obviam ei et dicite.
Music
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 the Middle Ages. Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed 19 Repons. 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.
