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Glite Dictionary
antiphony

antiphony

9.9
A way of singing where two groups sing back and forth, often in church
  • noun
  • /ˌæn.tɪˈfoʊ.ni/
  • Specialized
translation icon : antífona
  • I also thought it was interesting how there is antiphony between the background singers and the lead singer.

Examples

  • During the performance, the choir engaged in antiphony, creating an engaging dialogue through their alternating chants.

  • The call-and-response litanies of black church preaching and the DJ/audience antiphonies of rap sidewalk sampling are witness to such.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Next we learned that antiphony, or the call-and-response genre, is also part of the Metis vocal repertoire, here powerfully rendered by Cyndy Doxtator and a company of harmony singers.

    Academic text (2013)

  • In the church service, the congregation participated in an antiphony, singing responses to the choir in beautiful harmony.

  • The traditional singing style featured antiphony, with two groups alternating verses during the ceremony.

Surface Forms

antiphony singular
antiphonies plural

Morphology

antiphony = antiphon (transparent) = antiphon + y

Formed by adding the noun-forming suffix '-y' to 'antiphon', yielding the general noun for the practice or instance of antiphons.

Etymology

Antiphony comes from the Greek parts anti- meaning 'opposite' and phōnē meaning 'voice' or 'sound'. It describes a style of singing where two groups 'call and answer' or take turns, so antiphony is singing in back-and-forth voices.