ensemble of singers From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A choir or choral group is a collection of people who sing together. They typically rehearse together with a leader and perform concerts or sing during religious services. Some choirs are professional (the singers are paid for their work in the choir). Some choirs are semi-professional (the leaders are paid at a professional rate for their work with the choir but the singers are not). Some choirs are amateur or recreational (the leaders are either not paid or are offered an honorarium and the singers are not paid). Some amateur choirs invite anyone who is interested sing with them. Professional, semi-professional, and some amateur or recreational choirs require interested people to audition and then select their members based on a set of audition criteria.
The singers in choirs are grouped by their voice types and choral music is usually written with distinct lines or parts for some or all of these voice types. Voice types are typically organized into four groups. From highest vocal range to lowest, these include:
Music composed for choirs, or choral music, usually has at least two distinct vocal lines or parts that create harmony with one another. Although four vocal ranges are typically specified, composers of choral music often write more than four vocal lines. If the music divides into more than four parts this subdivision is typically shown by repeating the initials of the four voice parts to show which singers should be assigned to these vocal lines, e.g. SSAATTBB (for music in eight parts: two soprano lines, two alto lines etc.). Young children’s choirs may be unison choirs (all singing the same line), but older children will sing in two (SS) or three (SSA) parts or more.
Choirs usually organize and limit themselves according to voicing and/or age of the singers as well as by the size of group or the type of music they sing.
The primary voicing categories are:
Choirs that organize themselves by size or repertoire type, they can be called:
The word choir can also mean the part of a church or cathedral where the choir sit. The choir is between the nave (the main body of the church) and the sanctuary (where the altar is). The singers will divide into two groups and sit facing one another on either side of the choir area in the “choir stalls”. In cathedrals the singers on the left (when facing the altar) are called “cantoris” and those on the right are called “decani” (pronounce: dee-CAY-nye).
A large pipe organ may have three or more manuals (keyboards). The third keyboard is called the "choir". Traditionally the sound from the choir organ comes from pipes in a separate box behind the organist, facing the choir (the singers). It is often used to accompany them. Originally it was a separate instrument so that the organist had to turn round to play it. Later it became possible for the organist to play it from the main console.
Some famous choirs include:
Media related to Choirs at Wikimedia Commons
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