PRECES
LAMBERT M. SURHONE, MARIAM T. TENNOE, SUSAN F. HENSSONOW
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Preces (Latin preces, plural of prex, "prayer") are, in liturgical worship, short petitions that are said or sung as versicle and response by the officiant and congregation respectively.
This form of prayer is one of the oldest in Christianity, finding its source in both the pre-Christian Hebrew prayers of the Psalms in Temple Worship.
There are many musical settings of the text, ranging from largely homophonic settings such as those by William Byrd and Thomas Morley, to more elaborate arrangements that may even require organ accompaniment.
In the Roman Rite, the term preces is not applied in a specific sense to the opening versicles and responses of the different liturgical hours, on which those used in the Anglican services are based.
In the Roman Rite Liturgy of the Hours, the word preces is freely used in the Latin text with its generic meaning of "prayers," but it has a specialized meaning in reference to the prayers said at Morning and Evening Prayer after the Benedictus or Magnificat and followed by the Lord's Prayer and the concluding prayer or Collect.
