Anthem: Origin and Meanings of the Word

For most people, the word anthem immediately brings to mind the term national anthem. But that use of the word is fairly recent. The word anthem has been in English for more than 1,000 years and has served several different functions.

Antiphon
Anthem entered Old English sometime before the year 1000. At that time, it was usually spelled antefn, an alteration of Late Latin antiphona. In both languages, the word denoted a musical composition sung responsively, that is, by one chorus in response to another.

The etymology of the word antiphona reflects its meaning. It goes back to the Greek adjective antiphonos ("responsive"), from anti- ("opposite") plus phone ("voice").

Old English antefn became Middle English antem and Modern English anthem. Gradually, the word lost its original etymological sense and, as discussed below, developed new meanings.

However, as that process was occurring, a new word entered Middle English to replace anthem in denoting a composition sung responsively. The new word, which entered Middle English in the 15th century, was antiphone, borrowed from Middle French. Ironically, the source of the Middle French word was Late Latin antiphona, the same source that, centuries earlier, had led to anthem.

Middle English antiphone became Modern English antiphon, which still denotes a composition sung responsively.

Early Anthems
An anthem, broadly speaking, is a choral composition with English words from the Bible or some other religious text performed during Protestant church services. However, despite its connection with music and religion, the anthem was actually a child of politics.

Because of political differences with the Roman Catholic church, Henry VIII founded the Church of England, put himself at its head, and formally separated it from Rome in 1534. To punctuate that split, political leaders in England exerted official pressure on the religious community to replace Roman Catholicism's Latin texts and elaborate contrapuntal musical style with English texts and a simplified style.

At that time, the principal musical form in the Roman Catholic rites was the motet. The Church of England version of the motet was the anthem.

The earliest anthems were composed by Christopher Tye (c. 1500-1573), Thomas Tallis (c. 1505-1585), and Robert Whyte (c. 1535-1574). Their anthems showed clear differences from the Latin motet, such as being more syllabic, more homophonic, and more simplified in rhythm and phrasing.

Two different kinds of anthem emerged from the 16th century: the full anthem and the verse anthem.

First came the full anthem. This type of anthem was for an unaccompanied (a cappella) choir, full meaning completely choral. Tye, Tallis, and Whyte composed full anthems.

The verse anthem was introduced by William Byrd (1543-1623) toward the end of the 16th century and was developed later by Thomas Tomkins (1572-1656) and Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625). This type of anthem featured the full choir alternating passages with one or more solo singers who had instrumental accompaniment (in the early days, usually either an organ or a viol).

Both types often employed antiphonal singing, the alternation of two choirs or half-choirs.

Later Anthems
Political pressures and events continued to influence the anthem in the 17th century. For example, Charles II (reigned 1660-1685) favored solo singing and instrumental accompaniment. Therefore, composers during his reign tended to write mostly verse anthems, especially for formal occasions.

During that time, the orchestra became more and more important in instrumental accompaniments for verse anthems. John Blow (1649-1708) and Henry Purcell (1659-1695) contributed to this orchestral development and also introduced instrumental interludes into the anthem.

One of the major verse anthems of the 17th century was Purcell's "My Heart Is Inditing," composed for the coronation of James II in 1685.

However, for less formal purposes, full anthems were still composed during the late 17th century, such as Purcell's "Thou Knowest, Lord, the Secrets of Our Hearts" (1695).

From the 18th century on, composers continued to produce both full and verse anthems.

The most famous anthem composer of the 18th century was George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). He composed his eleven Chandos Anthems during 1717-1718 for the Earl of Carnarvon, who later (1719) became the Duke of Chandos.

Handel also composed four great Coronation Anthems (1727) for the coronation of George II: "Zadok the Priest," "The King Shall Rejoice," "My Heart Is Inditing," and "Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened."

Other important 18th-century anthem composers included Charles Avison (1709-1770), Maurice Greene (1696-1755), and John Stanley (1713-1786).

In the 19th century, the anthem tradition continued. Among the leaders were a father-son duo: Samuel Wesley (1766-1837) and Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876), the latter's anthems including the highly regarded "The Wilderness" (1832). Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900), of the famed operetta team Gilbert and Sullivan, also wrote anthems.

National Anthems
As religious anthems tended to have texts of praise, gladness, or rejoicing, the term anthem developed a broad, loosely applied sense: any song or hymn of praise, gladness, or rejoicing.

By the early 19th century, one of those loose applications was attached to "God Save the King/Queen," a patriotic hymn, that is, a song praising the nation. From that application arose the term national anthem. Soon the term was applied to a patriotic song of any other country as well, especially a song officially adopted and played or sung on formal occasions as a mark of loyalty to the nation.

Today, while earlier meanings of anthem are still utilized, the term national anthem is the most familiar use of the word.