Choir


A choir, also known as a chorale or chorus, is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words is the music performed by the ensemble. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which spans from the medieval era to the present, or popular music repertoire. Most choirs are led by a conductor, who leads the performances with arm, hand, and facial gestures.
The term choir is very often applied to groups affiliated with a church, whereas a chorus performs in theatres or concert halls, but this distinction is not rigid. Choirs may sing without instruments, or accompanied by a piano, accordion, pipe organ, a small ensemble, or an orchestra.
A choir can be a subset of an ensemble; thus one speaks of the "woodwind choir" of an orchestra, or different "choirs" of voices or instruments in a polychoral composition. In typical 18th century to 21st century oratorios and masses, 'chorus' or 'choir' implies that there is more than one singer per part, in contrast to the quartet of soloists also featured in these works.
File:Holiday songs - choir - dosseldorf germany - 2014 12 27.webm|thumb|A holiday choir singing several songs in Düsseldorf, Germany

Structure

Choirs are often led by a conductor, choirmaster or choir director. Most often, choirs consist of four sections intended to sing in four-part harmony, but there is no limit to the number of possible parts as long as there is a singer available to sing the part. For instance, Thomas Tallis wrote a 40-part motet entitled Spem in alium, for eight choirs of five parts each; while Krzysztof Penderecki's Stabat Mater is for three choirs of 16 voices each, a total of 48 parts. Other than four, the most common number of parts are three, five, six, and eight.
Choirs can sing with or without instrumental accompaniment. Singing without accompaniment is usually called a cappella singing. Accompanying instruments vary widely, from only one instrument to a full orchestra of 70 to 100 musicians; for rehearsals a piano or organ accompaniment is often used, even if a different instrumentation is planned for performance, or if the choir is rehearsing unaccompanied music. With the new prevalence of electronic devices, small groups can use these together with learning tracks for both group rehearsals and private practice.
Many choirs perform in various locations, such as churches, opera houses, schools, or village halls. In some cases, choirs come together to form a single "massed choir" for a special concert. In these instances, they present a series of songs or musical works to celebrate and entertain others.

Role of conductor

is the art of directing a musical performance, such as a choral concert, by way of visible gestures with the hands, arms, face and head. The primary duties of the conductor or choirmaster are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble.
In most choirs, the same individual acts as the musical director, chorusmaster , and conductor. However, these roles may be divided, especially when the choir is combined with other forces, for example in opera.
The conductor or choral director typically stands on a raised platform, and may or may not use a baton; using a baton gives the conductor's gestures greater visibility, but many choral conductors prefer conducting with their hands for greater expressiveness, particularly when working with a smaller ensemble. In the 2010s, most conductors do not play an instrument when conducting, although in earlier periods of classical music history, leading an ensemble while playing an instrument was common. In Baroque music from the 1600s to the 1750s, conductors performing in the 2010s may lead an ensemble while playing a harpsichord or the violin. Conducting while playing a piano may also be done with musical theatre pit orchestras. Communication is typically non-verbal during a performance. However, in rehearsals, the conductor will often give verbal instructions to the ensemble, since the conductor generally also serves as an artistic director who crafts the ensemble's interpretation of the music.
Conductors act as guides to the choirs they conduct. They choose the works to be performed and study their scores, to which they may make certain adjustments, work out their interpretation, and relay their vision to the singers. Choral conductors may also have to conduct instrumental ensembles such as orchestras if the choir is singing a piece for choir and orchestra. They may also attend to organizational matters, such as scheduling rehearsals, planning a concert season, hearing auditions, and promoting their ensemble in the media.

In worship services

Historically, the sung repertoire divides into sacred or religious music and secular music. While much religious music has been written with concert performance in mind, its origin lies in its role within the context of liturgy.

Accompaniment

Like post-Diaspora Jews during the first centuries, it was widely agreed by Christians that musical instruments should be excluded from worship. The consensus among early writers was that divine worship should privilege the unaccompanied human voice.
Most Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, some American Protestant groups, and traditional Jewish synagogues do not accompany their songs with musical instruments. In churches of the Western Rite the accompanying instrument is usually the organ, although in colonial America, the Moravian Church used groups of strings and winds. Many churches that use a contemporary worship format use a small amplified band to accompany the singing, and Roman Catholic Churches may use, at their discretion, additional orchestral accompaniment.

Liturgical function

In addition to leading the singing in which the congregation participates, such as hymns and service music, some church choirs sing full liturgies, including propers. In Christianity, chief among these are the Evangelical Lutheran, Anglican and Roman Catholic churches; far more common, however, is the performance of anthems or motets at designated times in the service. In the Catholic Church, the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy confirmed that choirs featured among those who "exercise a genuine liturgical function" within services such as the Mass. Singing in a congregation contributes to the effaciousness of the ritual. In Christianity, singing has played a significant role in the early Church, not only in authorising certain hymns but also providing the faithful with true Christian spirit.

Types

One of the main classifications of choirs is by gender and age since these factors have traditionally been thought to affect how a choir sounds and what music it performs. The types are listed here in approximate descending order of prevalence at the professional and advanced amateur or semi-professional levels.
  • Adult mixed choir is perhaps the most common and dominant type, usually consisting of soprano, alto, tenor, and bass voices, often abbreviated as SATB. Often one or more voices is divided into two, e.g., SSAATTBB, where each voice is divided into two parts, and SATBSATB, where the choir is divided into two semi-independent four-part choirs. Occasionally baritone voice is also used, often sung by the higher basses. In smaller choirs with fewer men, SAB, or soprano, alto, and baritone arrangements allow the few men to share the role of both the tenor and bass in a single part and altos may also sing the tenor part.
  • Male choir with the same SATB voicing as a mixed choir, but with boys singing the upper part and men singing alto, also known as countertenors. This format was until recently typical of the British cathedral choir. However, all cathedrals now accept women and by 2019 female choristers outnumbered males in English cathedral choirs.
  • Men's chorus, a choir of adult men, low voices only, usually consisting of two tenors, baritone, and bass, often abbreviated as TTBB. ATBB may be seen in some barbershop quartet music.
  • Boys' choir, a choir of boys, typically singing SSA or SSAA, sometimes including a cambiata/tenor part for boys/young men whose voices are changing and a baritone part for boys/young men whose voices have changed.
  • Women's choir, a choir of adult women, high voices only, usually consisting of soprano and alto voices, two parts in each, often abbreviated as SSAA, or as soprano I, soprano II, and alto, abbreviated SSA. If all singers are young, the term "girls' choir" is used instead.
  • Children's mixed choir, often two-part SA or three-part SSA, sometimes more voices.
The all-female and mixed children's choirs tend to be professionally less prevalent than the high voiced boys' choirs, the lower voiced men's choruses, or the full SATB choirs. This is due to some extent to lack of scholarships and other types of funding, and a lack of professional opportunities for women such as that of being lay clerks or musical directors.
Choirs are also categorized by the institutions in which they operate:
  • Church choirs
  • Chorale, dedicated to mostly sacred Christian music
  • Collegiate and university choir
  • Community choir
  • Professional choir, either independent or state-supported
  • School choirs
  • Signing choir using sign language rather than voices
  • Integrated signing and singing choir, using both sign language and voices and led by both a signductor and a musical director
  • Cambiata choirs, for adolescent boys whose voices are changing.
  • Virtual choirs, for members who do not meet physically, some having originated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some choirs are categorized by the type of music they perform, such as