The term “anthem” is the modern form of the Old English word alltefn or antempne. This in turn, comes from the Greek word antiphonol which means a song which is sung “antiphonally,” that is, by two groups. One group sings a part, and then the other group. This character has been retained throughout the history of the anthem in the practice of having the choir divided in two with certain portions of the music sung by one half and other portions by the other half. The two sides are known as Decani and Cantoris. It was common in the cathedral worship to have the decani on the south or Dean’s side, and the cantoris on the north or Precentor’s side of the large cathedral chancels.
While the parallel has been drawn between antiphonal singing and the decani and cantoris practice, we must be careful not to assume too many things. According to Wienandt, “The alternation between the two halves of the choir … is not directly related to the antiphonal style of Italian church music.” One might assume, for example, that the membership of the decalli and cantoria might be of different composition. This, however, was not the case. The two groups were SATB on both sides. Even though they were often singing one half at a time, when they merged together, the result was a large SATB choir and not SSAATTBB. If trebles sang occasionally in opposition to the lower voices, each group was made up of singers from both sides of the choir. Use of contrasting one side with the other or tossing interest back and forth as in the “double-choir” works of the continent is rare indeed. If the choir was singing a number in five or six parts, such as SSATB, the part of Soprano 1 would be· assumed by the decani and Soprano 2 by the cantoris. This practice provided an interesting thinning of soprano texture in what might be shown as SSATB” (or thinning of whichever part was split).
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.