Softly chants as tension's broken (7)

I believe the answer is:

intones

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'softly chants' is the definition.
'intones' can be an answer for 'chants' ('intone' can be a synonym of 'chant'). I'm unsure of the 'softly' bit.

'tension's broken' is the wordplay.
'broken' is an anagram indicator.
'tension' is an anagram of 'INTONES'.

'as' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for intones that I've seen before include "Chants" , "Recites in a chanting voice" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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