Choir

A choir or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers.

Structure of choirs

Choirs are often led by a conductor or choirmaster. Most often choirs consist of four parts but there is no limit to the number of possible parts: Thomas Tallis wrote a 40-part motet entitled Spem in alium, for eight choirs of five parts each; 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.

Related Topics:
Conductor - Thomas Tallis - Motet - Spem in alium - Krzysztof Penderecki

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Choirs can sing with or without instrumental accompaniment. Singing without accompaniment is typically called a cappella singing (although this usage is discouraged by the American Choral Directors Associationhttp://acdaonline.org/cj/stylebook.shtml). When singing with instrumental accompaniment, the accompanying instruments can consist of practically any instruments, one, several, or a full orchestra. In Anglican church music the accompanying instrument is almost always an organ.

Related Topics:
A cappella - American Choral Directors Association - Orchestra - Anglican church music - Organ

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For rehearsals, a piano accompaniment is often used even if a different instrumentation is planned for performance, or for rehearsing a cappella music.

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Choirs can be categorized by the voices they include:

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• Mixed choirs (i.e., with male and female voices). This is perhaps the most common 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 (e.g., SATBarB), often sung by the higher basses.
• Male choirs, with the same SATB voicing as mixed choirs, but with boys singing the upper part (often called treble or boy soprano) and men singing alto (in falsetto), also known as countertenor.
• Female choirs, usually consisting of soprano and alto voices, two parts in each, often abbreviated as SSAA.
• Men's choirs, usually consisting of two tenors, baritone, and bass, often abbreviated as TTBB (or ATBB if the upper part sings falsetto in alto range, as is common in barbershop music).
• Children's choirs, often two-part SA or three-part SSA, sometimes more voices.

Choirs are also categorized by the institutions in which they operate:

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• Church choirs
• College choirs
• School choirs
• Community choirs (of children or adults)
• Professional choirs, either independent (e.g., Chanticleer) or state-supported (e.g., Netherlands Chamber Choir)

Finally, some choirs are categorized by the type of music they perform, such as

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• Symphonic choirs
• Vocal jazz choirs
• Show choirs, in which the members sing and dance, often in performances somewhat like musicals

Layout on stage

There are various schools of thought regarding how the various sections should be arranged on stage. In symphonic choirs it is common (though by no means universal) to order the choir from highest to lowest voices from left to right, corresponding to the typical string layout. In a cappella or piano-accompanied situations it is not unusual for the men to be in the back and the women in front; some conductors prefer to place the basses behind the sopranos, arguing that the outer voices need to tune to each other.

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More experienced choirs often sing with the voices all mixed together. Proponents of this method argue that it makes it easier for each individual singer to hear and tune to the other parts, but it requires more independence from each singer. Opponents argue that this method loses the spatial separation of individual voice lines, an otherwise valuable feature for the audience.

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For music with double (or multiple) choirs, usually the members of each choir are together, sometimes significantly separated, especially in performances of 16th-century music. Some composers actually specify that choirs should be separated, such as in Benjamin Britten's War Requiem.

Related Topics:
Benjamin Britten - War Requiem

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