Responsory
Alternating chant between a cantor and a choir.
What it means
The responsory is an alternating chant between a cantor and a choir or congregation. The cantor sings a verse, usually from a psalm, and the choir answers with a refrain, the respond. The sequence consists of respond, verse and a return of the respond.
Musical use
The responsory has its place in the liturgy of the Mass, for instance as the gradual, and in the Divine Office, where Matins contains a responsory after the readings. The chants are transmitted in Gregorian chant; the responsorial melodies are elaborate and often ornate. Polyphonic settings are found with Renaissance composers, for instance the Tenebrae responsories.
The responsory should be distinguished from the antiphon, in which two choirs or half-choirs alternate and a refrain stands before and after the psalm, and from psalmody as the general manner of delivering the psalms.
Performance practice
When you sing in alternation, pay attention to the exact entry of the choir after the cantor. As a cantor, lead clearly and with secure intonation; as a choir, answer the verse calmly and evenly.