ANTHEM

ANTHEM. — From the Greek ἀντιφανή = antiphon, an English term denoting, in the liturgy of the Anglican Church, a religious composition on a biblical text in the form of a motet (principal authors: Tye, Tallis, Byrd, Gibbons). Following the spread of the monodic style, from about the middle of the 17th century it developed into a composition akin to the cantata, in which, alongside lesser authors such as Humphrey, Blow, Wise, Clarke, and others, H. Purcell and G. F. Händel excelled. Expanded in its instrumental section, the anthem has remained in use in England to the present day.