Responsorial psalmody primarily refers to the placement and use of the

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of H ...

within the readings at a

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service of the

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. The Psalm chosen in such a context is often called the responsorial psalm. They are found in the liturgies of several Christian denominations, including those of

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Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

and

Anglicanism Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

. The "responsorial" aspect is used in two related but different ways: the liturgical position of the psalm as a 'response' to the first (

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

) reading, and one possible manner of reciting it. The

RSCM The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is a Christian music education organisation dedicated to the promotion of music in Christian worship, in particular the repertoire and traditions of Anglican church music, largely through publications, tr ...

summarises these two aspects: "It is responsorial because it is sung in response to the first reading, not because it has a refrain or response for the people to sing. The whole psalm is therefore the response."

Liturgical position

The Catholic Dictionary defines the responsorial psalm as: The

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points out that not only the psalm but also the

gradual The gradual ( or ) is a certain chant or hymn in liturgical Christian worship. It is practiced in the Catholic Mass, Lutheran Divine Service, Anglican service and other traditions. It gets its name from the Latin (meaning "step") because i ...

and

alleluia ''Hallelujah'' (; , Modern Hebrew, Modern ) is an interjection from the Hebrew language, used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, ...

were also originally 'responsorial' chants. "The title 'responsorial psalm' is not given because there is a response or antiphon for the people to sing. The 'response' referred to is the reflection of the assembly on the proclamation of the reading which just took place." The use of the psalm "helps the assembly to meditate on and respond to the word that has just been proclaimed". It is for the entire assembly, ordained and lay, congregation and musicians: "The psalm is not only something addressed to the listeners by the cantor, but a prayer addressed to God. In this moment the cantor leads the faithful praying to God, and even the priest or bishop celebrating responds: together all of us gathered in worship praise God through the psalm, and we become the chorus of that prayer through reciting or singing the refrain."

History

This pattern to the psalm response developed from the early Church. An antiphon or verse was sung by all followed by extended verses of the psalm for the day with an intervening antiphon every so often. Fathers of the Church mentioning this format include

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and Leo the Great. The responsorial psalm was seen as an integral part of the liturgy with its own significance. This is in contrast to some of the other singing such as the

Introit The Introit () is part of the opening of the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist for many Christian denominations. In its most complete version, it consists of an antiphon, psalm verse and '' Gloria Patri'', which are spoken or sung at the ...

. Originally the

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

was the singer of this psalm and versicle; over time the role moved to the subdeacon then to the

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

. The singer did not go all the way to the top of the platform but rather stood on a lower step. This reserved reverence for the subsequent proclamation of the Gospel which alone was proclaimed from the top. The positioning from the step, in Latin ''gradus'', gave rise to the alternative name "gradual".

Liturgical recitation

More usually, the term refers to an antiphonal manner of reciting the psalm, with a

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

and to which the

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interjects a periodic 'response'. Gelineau psalmody in the

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tradition from the 1950s (so pre-dating the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

) describes it thus: "The psalm-verses are then sung by soloist(s) or choir, and after each verse everyone repeats the antiphon (''Responsorial or Antiphonal Psalmody'')". The responsorial psalm is the assembly's acclamation of the proclamation of God's Word in our midst: proclamation followed by acclamation. The refrain can be used in several ways. It can be sung only at the beginning and end of the psalm, allowing a focus for the uninterrupted psalm text. Or it can be sung repetitively through the psalm, after every few verses or where the natural breaks in the psalm text occur. Eucharistic liturgies consider it normative that the responsorial psalm be sung for three reasons: the genre of the psalms as lyrical compositions; the psalm is a response to the spoken word structure does not customarily respond to speech with more speech; this is the only time in the liturgy when a psalm is used for its own sake and not to accompany a ritual action. The psalm is often sung at the ambo or

lectern A lectern is a standing reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of ...

, because it is, at heart, one of the readings of the Word of God.

References

{{Authority control Church music Psalms