Friday, June 03, 2005

Responsory

Also called  respond  plainchant melody and text originally sung responsorially—i.e., by alternating choir and soloist or soloists. Responsorial singing of the psalms was adopted into early Christian worship from Jewish liturgical practice. Most frequently the congregation sang a short refrain, such as Amen or Alleluia, between psalm verses sung by a cantor. As medieval plainchant

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Beja

City, capital, and concelho (township), Beja distrito (“district”), southern Portugal, southeast of Lisbon. According to legend, Beja was founded by Ulysses, and it was named Pax Julia by Julius Caesar in 48 BC to commemorate the peace treaty signed in Beja by the Romans and Lusitanians. The city is partly enclosed by walls of Roman origin with two Roman gateways. Afonso I captured