Editing Antiphon (section)

== Polyphonic votive antiphons ==

[[Polyphony|Polyphonic]] [[Hymns to Mary#Marian antiphons|Marian antiphons]] emerged in England in the 14th century as settings of texts honouring the [[Virgin Mary]], which were sung separately from the [[Mass (liturgy)|mass]] and [[Liturgy of the Hours|office]], often after [[Compline]].<ref name="W. Baxter Robison 2002 p. 363">R. H. Fritze and W. Baxter Robison, ''Historical Dictionary of Late Medieval England, 1272–1485'' (Greenwood, 2002), p. 363.</ref> Towards the end of the 15th century, [[English people|English]] [[composer]]s produced expanded settings up to nine [[Part (music)|parts]], with increasing complexity and [[vocal range]].<ref name="W. Baxter Robison 2002 p. 363" /> The largest collection of such antiphons is the late-15th-century ''[[Eton Choirbook]]''.<ref>H. Benham, ''John Taverner: His Life and Music'' (Ashgate, Aldershot, 2003), pp. 48–9.</ref> As a result, antiphony remains particularly common in the [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] musical tradition: the singers often face each other, placed in the [[Choir (architecture)|quire's]] ''[[Decani]]'' and ''[[Cantoris]]''.<ref>R. Bray, 'England i, 1485–1600' in J. Haar, ''European Music, 1520–1640'' (Boydell, 2006), p. 498.</ref>