Decani

Side of a church choir occupied by the Dean

Decani (/dɪˈkeɪnaɪ/; Latin: 'of the dean') is the side of a church choir occupied by the Dean.^[1] In English churches, this is typically the choir stalls on the south side of the chancel. The opposite side is known as Cantoris.^[2] The abbreviations "Dec." and "Can." are used. ^[3]^[4]

The association of the Dean with the south side has propagated from the Sarum (now Salisbury Cathedral) liturgical norm, a practice that then propagated through pre-Reformation England and Wales.^[5] There are some notable exceptions in the monastic cathedrals, where the senior cleric under the bishop was the prior; he often sat on the liturgical north.^[5] Hence, in Durham Cathedral, Ely Cathedral, St Davids Cathedral, Carlisle Cathedral, and Southwell Minster, decani is on the north.

References

^ Latham, Alison (2002). The Oxford Companion to Music. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 345. ISBN 978-0-19-866212-9.
^ "Decani vc. Cantoris". The Church Times. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
^ Ashley, Martin. "Where have all the singers gone, and when will they return? Prospects for Choral Singing after the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic" (PDF). Association of British Choral Directors. p. 21. Retrieved 29 April 2024. e.g. just Dec or Can on alternate days
^ "Morning and Evening Canticles" (PDF). Quarterly News Sheet. 1. School of English Church Music: 3. April 1928. Retrieved 29 April 2024. Verses are allotted to full choir, Dec. and Can.
^ ^a ^b Hughes, Gareth (19 May 2016). "Pass Decani on the Gospel Side: and other adventures in spiritual choreography". Ad Fontes. Retrieved 14 June 2016.

Anglican church music

Category
Commons
Audio

Service settings

Holy Communion	Sung Eucharist Kyrie Gloria Credo Sanctus & Benedictus Agnus Dei
Mattins	Preces and responses Venite Te Deum Benedicite Benedictus Jubilate
Evensong	Preces and responses Magnificat Nunc dimittis

Musical forms

Composers

Tudor/Renaissance	Richard Ayleward Adrian Batten William Byrd Richard Dering Richard Farrant Orlando Gibbons John Merbecke Robert Parsons John Redford John Sheppard Thomas Tallis John Taverner Thomas Tomkins Christopher Tye Thomas Weelkes William Mundy
Restoration/Georgian	Thomas Attwood John Blow Jeremiah Clarke Maurice Greene George Frideric Handel Pelham Humfrey Daniel Purcell Henry Purcell
Victorian/Edwardian	Edgar Bainton Edward Bairstow Lennox Berkeley Hugh Blair William Boyce John Goss T. Tertius Noble Frederick Ouseley Hubert Parry John Stainer Charles Villiers Stanford Ralph Vaughan Williams Thomas Attwood Walmisley Samuel Wesley Samuel Sebastian Wesley Charles Wood
Interwar/Postwar	Harold Darke George Dyson Gerald Finzi William H. Harris Basil Harwood Herbert Howells John Ireland Francis Jackson William Mathias Herbert Murrill George Oldroyd Bernard Rose Martin Shaw Herbert Sumsion William Walton
Modern	Malcolm Archer Harry Bramma Benjamin Britten Jonathan Dove Graham Kendrick Kenneth Leighton John Rutter Richard Shephard John Tavener

Other noted people

Publications

Contemporary	Carols for Choirs The English Hymnal The Hymnal 1982 Hymns Ancient and Modern The New English Hymnal The Oxford Book of Carols The Oxford Book of Tudor Anthems The New Oxford Book of Carols
Historic	Caius Choirbook Dow Partbooks Drexel 4041 4180–4185 4302 Eton Choirbook Forrest-Heyther partbooks Gyffard partbooks Lambeth Choirbook The Mulliner Book Old Hall Manuscript Pepys Manuscript