用拉丁文唱的宗教合唱曲，一般只有一個節奏。起源於13世紀，原是舊曲配新詞。由奧加農一部分的復調裝飾樂克勞蘇拉（clausula）直接發展而來，後來分開成單獨的樂曲，同時保留聖詠歌詞無意義的片斷，高音部分則保留有旋律。前半部分通常是聖詩或世俗詩甚至是反教會詩的結合，表明其通常是在宮廷或宗教場所演奏的。經文歌是13世紀最重要的音樂類型，也是發展復調音樂的基本工具。文藝復興時期的聖經文歌（現在只有單段歌詞），由一些作曲家如若斯坎.德普雷、拉索和伯德等創作，但是經文歌在教堂演奏的頻率無從知曉。17～18世紀，盧利、夏龐蒂埃、舒次和巴哈都曾創作過經文歌。約1750年後這種音樂類型逐漸衰退，其顯着的特點也變得鬆散。
motet
Latin choral composition, generally in one movement. Its origins are in the 13th century, when words (French, mots) began to be added to originally wordless polyphonic lines in settings of plainchant. It grew directly out of the clausula, a polyphonic decoration of a portion of organum, but soon split off to become a separate composition, while retaining a meaningless fragment of chant text and melody in the tenor part. The upper texts often became a confusing mixture of sacred and secular—and even anticlerical—poems, indicating its intended performance in courtly as well as ecclesiastical settings. The motet was the most important musical genre of the 13th century and an essential vehicle for the development of polyphony. In the Renaissance sacred motets, now employing a single text, were written by such composers as Josquin des Prez, Orlande de Lassus, and W. Byrd, though it remains unclear how often they were performed in church settings. In the 17th-18th century, motets were written by J.-B. Lully, M.-A. Charpentier, H. Schutz, and J.S. Bach. After c. 1750 the genre declined and its distinguishing characteristics became diffuse.
