Marian antiphon
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Marian antiphons are a group of sacred devotional songs in the Gregorian chant repertory of the Roman Catholic Church sung in honor of the Virgin Mary. Marian antiphons are not true antiphons, in that they are not associated and chanted with a Psalm verse.
Although there are a number of Marian antiphons, some of great antiquity, the term is often used to refer to four elaborate chants in particular:
These four chants have been sung according to different schedules in different monastic traditions over the years, but in current usage the liturgical year is divided into four periods, with each period associated with one of the four Marian antiphons, which is sung at the end of Compline or Vespers during that period. For example, Alma Redemptoris Mater is sung at from the first Sunday in Advent until Candlemas.
The four Marian antiphons, sometimes with alterations, were often set to polyphonic arrangements by Renaissance composers.
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