Complete Encyclopaedia of Music/A/Anthem

by John Weeks Moore

Anthem. A vocal composition set to words generally selected from the Psalms, and adapted to cathedral service. There are five species of anthems : the verse and chorus anthem, consisting of verse and chorus, but beginning in chorus; the verse anthem, containing verse and chorus, but beginning in verse; the full anthem, consisting wholly of chorus ; the solo anthem, consisting of solos and choruses, but without verse ; the instrumental anthem, which may be similar to either of the foregoing, but is furnished with accompaniments. Anthem singing is very ancient in the church ; some suppose it to have descended from the practice of the earliest Christians, who, according to Pliny, were accustomed to sing their hymns to Christ in parts, or in tunes. Anthems were first introduced in the reformed service of the English church in the beginning of' the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Socrates says, "St. Ignatius is the author of anthem singing among the Greeks, and St. Ambrose among the Latins." At the present day we call any sacred tune or piece of music set to words from the Psalms, &c., an anthem.