Choir

A choir or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers.

Historical overview of choral music

A great number of composers have written choral works. However, composing instrumental music is an entirely different field than composing vocal music. The requirements of including text, making it intelligible, and catering to the special capabilities and limitations of the human voice makes composing vocal music in some ways more demanding than composing instrumental music. Due to this difficulty, many of the greatest composers have never composed choral music. Naturally, many composers have their favourite instruments and rarely compose for other types instruments or ensembles, and choral music is in this sense not a special case. On the other hand, many composers of all eras have specialized in choral music, and for the first thousand years of western music history choral music was one of the only types of music to have survived intact.

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Medieval music

The earliest notated music of western Europe is Gregorian Chant, along with a few other types of chant which were later subsumed (or sometimes suppressed) by the Catholic Church. This tradition of a cappella choir singing lasted from sometime between the times of St. Ambrose (4th century) and Gregory the Great (6th century) up to the present. During the later Middle Ages, a new type of singing involving multiple melodic parts, called organum became predominant for certain functions, but initially this polyphony was only sung by soloists. Further developments of this technique included clausulae, conductus and the motet, which was to become a predominant Renaissance form. The first evidence of performance with more than one singer per part comes in the Old Hall Manuscript (1420, though containing music from the late 1300s), in which there is occasional divisi (where one part divides into two different notes, something a solo singer obviously couldn't handle).

Related Topics:
Gregorian Chant - St. Ambrose - 4th century - Gregory the Great - 6th century - Organum - Polyphony - Clausula - Conductus - Motet - Renaissance - Old Hall Manuscript

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Renaissance music

During the Renaissance, sacred choral music was the principal type of (formal or 'serious') music in Western Europe. Many of the greatest composers of the time composed hundreds of masses, motets and other works for singing by choirs--mostly a cappella, though there is some dispute over the role of instruments during certain periods and in certain areas. Some of the names of composers of this time include Josquin des Prez, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, and William Byrd; the glories of Renaissance polyphony were choral, sung by choirs of great skill and distinction all over Europe. Choral music from this period continues to be popular many choirs throughout the world today.

Related Topics:
Renaissance - Mass - Motet - A cappella - Josquin des Prez - Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - William Byrd - Polyphony

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Madrigals are a particularly popular form dating from this period. Initially dramatic settings of unrequited-love poetry or mythological stories in Italy, they were imported into England and merged with the more upbeat balletto, celebrating often silly songs of spring, or eating and drinking. To most English speakers, the word madrigal now refers to the latter, rather than to madrigals proper.

Related Topics:
Madrigal - Balletto - English

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The interaction of sung voices in Renaissance polyphony influenced Western music for centuries. Most of the secular forms of music of the Baroque period derive in some way from the flowering of music during this intensely creative time. Composers routinely studied the style of composition well into the 20th century, especially as codified by music theorist Johann Joseph Fux, and the language of music analysis (which describes instrumental parts as "voices" and their melodic motion as "voice-leading") has its roots in the Renaissance style.

Related Topics:
Baroque - Johann Joseph Fux

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Composers of the early twentieth century also endeavored to extend and develop the Renaissance styles. Herbert Howells wrote a Mass in the Dorian mode entirely in strict Renaissance style, and Ralph Vaughan Williams's Mass in G minor is an extension of this style. Anton von Webern wrote his dissertation on the Choralis Constantinus of Heinrich Isaac and his development of serial music techniques was informed by this study.

Related Topics:
Herbert Howells - Ralph Vaughan Williams - Anton von Webern - Heinrich Isaac - Serial music

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Baroque music

The sudden developments which mark the beginning of the Baroque period around 1600 (instrumental music, opera, chords) were only introduced gradually into choral music. Madrigals continued to be written for the first few decades of the 17th century. Contrapuntal motets continued to be written for the Catholic church in the Renaissance style well into the 18th century.

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One of the first innovative choral composers of the Baroque was Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), a master of counterpoint, who extended the new techniques pioneered by the Venetian School and the Florentine Camerata. Monteverdi, together with Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672), used the new harmonic techniques to support and reinforce the meaning of the text. They both composed a large amount of music for both a cappella choir as well as choirs accompanied by different ensembles.

Related Topics:
Claudio Monteverdi - Counterpoint - Venetian School - Florentine Camerata - Heinrich Schütz

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Independent instrumental accompaniment opened up new possibilities for choral music. Verse anthems alternated accompanied solos with choral sections; the best-known composers of this genre were Orlando Gibbons and Henry Purcell. Grand motets (such as those of Michel-Richard Delalande) separated these sections into separate movements. Oratorios extended this concept into concert-length works, usually loosely based on Biblical stories. Giacomo Carissimi was the principal early composer of oratorios, but most opera composers of the Baroque also wrote oratorios, generally in the same musical style as the operas. Georg Friedrich Handel is the best-known composer of Baroque oratorios.

Related Topics:
Verse anthem - Orlando Gibbons - Henry Purcell - Michel-Richard Delalande - Oratorio - Giacomo Carissimi - Georg Friedrich Handel

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Lutheran composers wrote instrumentally-accompanied cantatas, often based on chorales (hymns). While Dietrich Buxtehude was a significant composer of such works, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) made the most prominent mark in this style, writing cantatas, motets, passions and other music. While Bach was little-known as a composer in his time, and for almost a century after his death, composers such as Mozart and Mendelssohn assiduously studied and learned from his contrapuntal and harmonic techniques, and his music is regular performed and admired in the present day.

Related Topics:
Cantata - Chorale - Hymn - Dietrich Buxtehude - Johann Sebastian Bach - Motet - Passions - Mozart - Mendelssohn

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Classical and Romantic music

Composers of the late 18th century became fascinated with the new possibilities of the symphony and other instrumental music, and generally neglected choral music. Mozart's choral music generally does not represent his best work, with a few exceptions (such as the Requiem). Haydn only became interested in choral music near the end of his life, writing a series of masses beginning in 1797.

Related Topics:
Mozart - Haydn

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In the 19th century, sacred music escaped from the church and leaped onto the concert stage, with large sacred works unsuitable for church use, such as Beethoven's Missa solemnis, Berlioz's Te Deum, and Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem. Rossini's Stabat mater, Schubert's masses, and Verdi's Requiem also exploited the grandeur offered by instrumental accompaniment.

Related Topics:
Beethoven - Missa solemnis - Berlioz - Brahms - Ein deutsches Requiem - Rossini - Schubert - Verdi - Requiem

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Oratorios also continued to be written, clearly influenced by Handel's models. Berlioz's L'Enfance du Christ and Mendelssohn's Elijah and St. Paul are in the category. Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Brahms also wrote secular cantatas, the best known of which are Brahms' Schicksalslied and Nänie.

Related Topics:
Mendelssohn's - Elijah - St. Paul

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A few composers developed a cappella music, especially Bruckner, whose masses and motets startlingly juxtapose Renaissance counterpoint with chromatic harmony. Mendelssohn and Brahms also wrote significant a cappella motets.

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The amateur chorus (beginning chiefly as a social outlet) began to receive serious consideration as a compositional venue for the part-songs of Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, and others. These 'singing clubs' were often for women or men separately, and the music was typically in four-part (hence the name "part-song") and either a cappella or with simple instrumentation. At the same time, the Cecilian movement attempted a restoration of the pure Renaissance style in Catholic churches.

Related Topics:
Schumann - Cecilian movement

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20th and 21st centuries

As in other genres of music, choral music underwent a period of experimentation and development during the 20th century. While few well-known composers focused primarily on choral music, most significant composers of the early century wrote at least a small amount.

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The early post-Romantic composers, such as Richard Strauss and Sergei Rachmaninoff, contributed to the genre, but it was Ralph Vaughan Williams who made the greatest contribution of this type, writing new motets in the Renaissance style with the new harmonic languages, and arranging English and Scottish folk songs. Arnold Schoenberg's Friede auf Erden represents the culmination of this style, a tonal kaleidoscope whose tonal centers are constantly shifting (similar to his Verklaerte Nacht for strings from the same period).

Related Topics:
Richard Strauss - Sergei Rachmaninoff - Ralph Vaughan Williams - Motet - Arnold Schoenberg - Verklaerte Nacht

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As the century progressed, modernist techniques found their expression in choral music, including serial compositions by Schoenberg, Anton von Webern, and Stravinsky; eclectic compositions by Charles Ives; dissonant counterpoint by Darius Milhaud (Cinq Rechants) and Paul Hindemith (When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd). Because of the difficulty of singing atonal music, these compositions are rarely performed today, although enjoyed by specialists. However, the primitivist movement is represented by Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, a composition widely performed.

Related Topics:
Schoenberg - Anton von Webern - Stravinsky - Charles Ives - Darius Milhaud - Paul Hindemith - Carl Orff - Carmina Burana

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Neoclassical styles found a more enduring legacy in choral music. Benjamin Britten wrote a number of well-known choral works, including War Requiem, Five Flower Songs, and Rejoice in the Lamb. Francis Poulenc's Motets pour le temps de noël, Gloria, and Mass in G are often performed. Hugo Distler wrote a huge amount of modern music modelled on the forms of Bach.

Related Topics:
Benjamin Britten - Francis Poulenc - Hugo Distler

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In the United States, Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, and Randall Thompson wrote signature American pieces.

Related Topics:
United States - Aaron Copland - Samuel Barber - Randall Thompson

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In Eastern Europe, Bela Bartok and Zoltan Kodaly wrote a small amount of choral music.

Related Topics:
Bela Bartok - Zoltan Kodaly

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Post-World War II music took experimentation to its logical extreme. Sinfonia by Luciano Berio includes a chorus. Krzysztof Penderecki's St. Luke Passion includes choral shouting, clusters, and aleatoric techniques. Richard Felciano wrote for chorus and electronic tape.

Related Topics:
Luciano Berio - Krzysztof Penderecki - Richard Felciano

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Minimalism is represented by Arvo Pärt, whose Johannespassion and Magnificat have received regular performances.

Related Topics:
Minimalism - Arvo Pärt

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Avant-garde techniques:

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• Shouting
• Fry tones (lowest possible note)
• Tone clusters
• Wordless chorus, spearheaded by Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker and Holst's The Planets, was expanded by Schoenberg, Darius Milhaud, and others.

Black Spirituals came into greater prominence and arrangements of such spirituals became part of the standard choral repertoire. Notable composers and arrangers of choral music in this tradition include André Thomas and Moses Hogan.

Related Topics:
Spiritual - André Thomas - Moses Hogan

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While it is too soon to discern trends in the 21st century, the spirit of more practical tonally-oriented music which dominated the last decades of the 20th century seems to be continuing via the works of Karl Jenkins, John Rutter and Robert Steadman amongst others. Eric Whitacre, however, has achieved considerable attention by combining tonal music with tone clusters and similar experimental techniques.

Related Topics:
21st century - Karl Jenkins - John Rutter - Robert Steadman - Eric Whitacre - Tone clusters

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