Alternatim refers to a technique of liturgical musical performance. A specific part of the ordinary of the Mass (such as the Kyrie) would be divided into versets. Each verset would be performed antiphonally by two groups of singers, giving rise to polyphonic settings of half of the text. One of these groups may alternatively have consisted of a soloist, a group of instruments, or an organ. The missing even- or odd-numbered verses were supplied by plainchant or, perhaps more commonly (to judge by the organ masses of Hans Buchner), by improvisations on the organ.[1]
A large amount of musical repertoire was specifically written for alternatim performance, with Heinrich Isaac one notable composer. Alternatim performance of the Mass was common throughout Europe in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries.