responsory, plainchant melody and text originally sung responsorially—i.e., by alternating choir and soloist or soloists. Responsorial singing of the psalms was adopted into early Christian worship from Jewish liturgical practice. Most frequently the congregation sang a short refrain, such as Amen or Alleluia, between psalm verses sung by a cantor. As medieval plainchant developed, more elaborate refrains (R) were sung by a choir alternating with soloists singing psalm verses (V), producing a musical form R V1 R V2…R. The responsory, or refrain, was frequently abbreviated on its repetition. Its text usually related to the meaning of the feast day or the content of the psalm. Only a few such chants survive in this long form, which is now normally curtailed.
The main places in which responsorial chants occur are the canonical hours, or divine office, and the Alleluia and Gradual of the mass. In most cases the basic pattern is R V R, with the V section being one or a few psalm verses. In the Gradual, the final refrain, or responsory, is usually omitted, making the form R V. Within the divine office, a great responsory (i.e., with a more ornate and longer melody) is sung at Matins, at Vespers on solemn feasts, and in processions; a short responsory is sung following the readings at other services of the office. In the earliest polyphony (music written in several parts, or voices), the solo sections of responsorial chants were generally set polyphonically and alternated with the original chant of the choral sections. In modern performances of responsorial chants, the traditional responsorial performance is not always maintained.