Responsorial

Responsorial refers to a form of liturgical or musical performance in which a solo voice or a small group delivers a verse or section, and the remainder of the voices (congregation, choir, or assembly) respond with a repeated refrain. In Christian liturgy, the term most often describes the responsorial psalm, a psalmody in which the cantor or choir intones the verse and the people repeat a fixed response after each verse.

During the Catholic Mass, the Responsorial Psalm follows the first reading and precedes the Alleluia. It features a cantorial part (versicles) and a congregational refrain. The refrain is usually simple and melodic to facilitate participation. The structure may include several verses with the same refrain, or a short sequence culminating in the refrain.

Other Christian traditions, including Anglican, Lutheran, and many Protestant denominations, employ responsorial singing in similar ways, sometimes with the cantor and people alternating roles or with a small choir supported by the organ.

Historically, responsorial psalmody has roots in early Christian and Jewish worship, evolving through medieval Latin liturgy and adopted into vernacular services after the Second Vatican Council; modern editions of liturgical books provide guidelines for the responsorial format and approved psalms and refrains.

Terminology: Responsorial contrasts with antiphonal psalmody, where two groups alternate verses without a fixed refrain; it is also related to call-and-response forms in hymnody.

Outside of strict liturgy, responsorial can describe similar call-and-response patterns in secular or contemporary worship music.