Choral composition with English words used in church services.
It developed in the mid-16th century as the Anglican version of the Catholic Latin motet . The full anthem is for unaccompanied chorus throughout; the verse anthem employs one or more soloists and, generally, instrumental accompaniment. Both types often employ antiphonal singing, the alternation of two half-choirs ( anthem derives from antiphon ). William Byrd , Thomas Tallis , Henry Purcell , and George Frideric Handel wrote well-known anthems.