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Alternating: verses shared between two bodies, for example choir and organ.
Printed in titles or rubrics of liturgical works (a Magnificat or hymn alternatim) to show that verses alternate between choir and organ or between polyphony and chant; individual verses are labelled for each group.
Alternatim structure gives variety and a dialogue between forces, and it shortens long liturgical texts in performance. Plan the verses for each group, keeping text, mode and pitch consistent so the alternation joins cleanly. In organ masses the organ verses replace sung text, so base them on the chant they stand in for; in a Magnificat, decide whether the polyphony takes the odd or the even verses.
Alternatim is one of 1755 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary: the words, abbreviations and instrument names that appear in printed scores, plus the vocabulary composers use to talk about them.
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