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84-408: A choir ( / ˈ k w aɪər / KWIRE ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin chorus , meaning 'a dance in a circle') 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

168-482: A basso continuo "for harpsichord or lute".) His pupil Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672) (who had earlier studied with Giovanni Gabrieli ) introduced the new style to Germany. Alongside the new music of the seconda pratica , contrapuntal motets in the stile antico or old style continued to be written well into the 19th century. Choirs at this time were usually quite small and that singers could be classified as suited to church or to chamber singing. Monteverdi, himself

252-520: A basso seguente , a part on a single staff containing the lowest sounding part (the bass part). A new genre was the vocal concertato , combining voices and instruments; its origins may be sought in the polychoral music of the Venetian school . Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) brought it to perfection with his Vespers and his Eighth Book of Madrigals, which call for great virtuosity on the part of singers and instruments alike. (His Fifth Book includes

336-437: A flute , an oboe , a clarinet , and a bassoon . A brass quartet features two trumpets , a trombone , and a tuba (or French horn (more commonly known as "horn") ). A saxophone quartet consists of a soprano saxophone , an alto saxophone , a tenor saxophone , and a baritone saxophone . The string quintet is a common type of group. It is similar to the string quartet, but with an additional viola, cello, or more rarely,

420-423: A piano may also be done with musical theatre pit orchestras . Communication is typically non-verbal during a performance (this is strictly the case in art music , but in jazz big bands or large pop ensembles, there may be occasional spoken instructions). However, in rehearsals , the conductor will often give verbal instructions to the ensemble, since they generally also serve as an artistic director who crafts

504-403: 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

588-499: A bass instrument (e.g., violone ). Baroque vocal music explored dramatic implications in the realm of solo vocal music such as the monodies of the Florentine Camerata and the development of early opera . This innovation was in fact an extension of established practice of accompanying choral music at the organ, either from a skeletal reduced score (from which otherwise lost pieces can sometimes be reconstructed) or from

672-633: A baton based on their own physical demands and the nature of the performance: Sir Henry Wood and Herbert von Karajan are some examples. Historic examples of their construction include one given to the French composer Louis-Antoine Jullien in the mid 1850s prior to his first visit to the United States: it is described as "a gorgeous baton made of maplewood, richly mounted in gold and set with costly diamonds." Batons have normally varied in length from about 10 to 24 inches (250 to 610 mm) though

756-405: A baton to conduct with his hands. Said Princess Eleanor von Liechtenstein, "Hayden [ sic ] gave the tempo with his two hands;" and wrote a Swedish relative of Franz Berwald, "on a higher level stood Haydn himself with his baton." The baton began to gain in popularity between 1820 and 1840. The first batons were narrow and conical wooden wands that had an engraving of three rings near

840-404: A baton, preferring to conduct only with their hands. This method is common with smaller groups and choral conductors. If the conductor does not use a baton, their hands must do the job with equal clarity, and the gestures must be first and always meaningful in terms of the music. According to Gustav Meier , most conductors use a baton to "increase the visibility of the beat information". Before

924-408: A cappella motets. 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

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1008-564: A challenge to teaching this age range. Nationally, male students are enrolled in choir at much lower numbers than their female students. The music education field has had a longtime interest in the "missing males" in music programs. Speculation as to why there are not as many boys in choir, and possible solutions vary widely. One researcher found that boys who enjoy choir in middle school may not always go on to high school choir because it simply does not fit into their schedules. Some research speculates that one reason that boys' participation in choir

1092-462: A chamber orchestra). Larger orchestras are called symphony orchestras (see below) or philharmonic orchestras. A pops orchestra is an orchestra that mainly performs light classical music (often in abbreviated, simplified arrangements) and orchestral arrangements and medleys of popular jazz, music theater, or pop music songs. A string orchestra has only string instruments, i.e., violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. A symphony orchestra

1176-428: A church, opera house, school or village hall. In some cases choirs join up to become one "mass" choir that performs for a special concert. In this case they provide a series of songs or musical works to celebrate and provide entertainment to others. Conducting 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

1260-537: A form of male rebellion vis-à-vis female bedroom culture." In popular music, there has been a gendered "distinction between public (male) and private (female) participation" in music. "[S]everal scholars have argued that men exclude women from bands or the bands' rehearsals, recordings, performances, and other social activities." "Women are mainly regarded as passive and private consumers of allegedly slick, prefabricated – hence, inferior – pop music..., excluding them from participating as high-status rock musicians." One of

1344-421: A high prominence in many popular music styles as singers. However, professional women instrumentalists are uncommon in popular music, especially in rock genres such as heavy metal . "[P]laying in a band is largely a male homosocial activity, that is, learning to play in a band is largely a peer-based... experience, shaped by existing sex-segregated friendship networks." As well, rock music "...is often defined as

1428-406: A leader. In jazz bands, rock and pop groups, and similar ensembles, this is the band leader . In classical music, orchestras, concert bands, and choirs are led by a conductor . In orchestra, the concertmaster (principal first violin player) is the instrumentalist leader of the orchestra. In orchestras, the individual sections also have leaders, typically called the "principal" of the section (e.g.,

1512-472: A range of between 12 and 26 inches (300 and 660 mm) is more commonly used; Henry Wood once requested the use of a 24-inch baton. When Gaspare Spontini arrived in Dresden in 1844, Wagner had a baton made from a thick ebony staff with ivory knobs at either end. Spontini purportedly held the baton in the center with a fist, using it like a marshall's staff —not for beating time but rather for commanding

1596-404: A singer, instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader." According to Auslander, she was "kicking down the male door in rock and roll and proving that a female musician  ... and this is a point I am extremely concerned about ... could play as well if not better than the boys". Baton (conducting) A baton is a stick that is used by conductors primarily to enlarge and enhance

1680-484: A singer, is documented as taking part in performances of his Magnificat with one voice per part. 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 . Grands motets (such as those of Lully and Delalande ) separated these sections into separate movements. Oratorios (of which Giacomo Carissimi

1764-440: A small amplified band to accompany the singing, and Roman Catholic Churches may use, at their discretion, additional orchestral accompaniment. In addition to leading of singing in which the congregation participates, such as hymns and service music, some church choirs sing full liturgies, including propers (introit, gradual, communion antiphons appropriate for the different times of the liturgical year ). Chief among these are

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1848-406: 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 (see Concertmaster ). Conducting while playing

1932-495: A substitute for each voice, Joshua Rifkin concludes that Bach's music was normally written with one voice per part in mind. A few sets of original performing parts include ripieni who reinforce rather than slavishly double the vocal quartet. 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 mostly sacred choral works stand out as some of his greatest (such as

2016-767: A variety of performing forces, from the soloists of the Chandos Anthems to larger groups (whose proportions are still quite different from modern orchestra choruses): Yesterday [Oct. 6] there was a Rehearsal of the Coronation Anthem in Westminster-Abby , set to musick by the famous Mr Hendall: there being 40 voices, and about 160 violins , Trumpets , Hautboys , Kettle-Drums and Bass' proportionable..! Lutheran composers wrote instrumentally accompanied cantatas , often based on chorale tunes . Substantial late 17th-century sacred choral works in

2100-455: Is also of interest as the earliest Christian music . Of the Roman drama's music a single line of Terence surfaced in the 18th century. However, musicologist Thomas J. Mathiesen comments that it is no longer believed to be authentic. 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

2184-663: Is an ensemble usually comprising at least thirty musicians; the number of players is typically between fifty and ninety-five and may exceed one hundred. A symphony orchestra is divided into families of instruments. In the string family, there are sections of violins (I and II), violas, cellos (often eight), and basses (often from six to eight). The standard woodwind section consists of flutes (one doubling piccolo), oboes (one doubling English horn), soprano clarinets (one doubling bass clarinet), and bassoons (one doubling contrabassoon). The standard brass section consists of horns, trumpets, trombones, and tuba. The percussion section includes

2268-504: 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 called a cappella singing (although the American Choral Directors Association discourages this usage in favor of "unaccompanied", since a cappella denotes singing "as in

2352-447: Is much more significant in boys. A lot of literature in music education has been focused on how male voice change works and how to help adolescent male singers. Research done by John Cooksey categorizes male voice change into five stages, and most middle school boys are in the early stages of change. The vocal range of male and female students may be limited while their voice is changing, and choir teachers must be able to adapt, which can be

2436-545: Is probably suitable only for the grandest ceremonies due to its length, difficulty and large-scale scoring. He also pioneered the use of chorus as part of symphonic texture with his Ninth Symphony and Choral Fantasia . 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 Berlioz 's Te Deum and Requiem , and Brahms 's Ein deutsches Requiem . Rossini 's Stabat mater , Schubert 's masses, and Verdi 's Requiem also exploited

2520-413: Is rare, except for the nonet (nine musicians). In most cases, a larger classical group is referred to as an orchestra of some type or a concert band. A small orchestra with fifteen to thirty members (violins, violas, four cellos, two or three double basses, and several woodwind or brass instruments) is called a chamber orchestra . A sinfonietta usually denotes a somewhat smaller orchestra (though still not

2604-593: Is so low is because the U.S. does not encourage male singers. Often, schools will have a women's choir, which helps the balance issues mixed choirs face by taking on extra female singers. However, without a men's choir also, this can make the problem worse by not giving boys as many opportunities to sing as girls. Other researchers have noted that having an ensemble, or a workshop dedicated to male singers, can help with their confidence and singing abilities. British cathedral choirs are usually made from pupils enrolled in schools. There are various schools of thought regarding how

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2688-495: Is that of ancient Greece , of which the 2nd century BC Delphic hymns and the 2nd century AD. hymns of Mesomedes are the most complete. The original Greek chorus sang its part in Greek drama , and fragments of works by Euripides ( Orestes ) and Sophocles ( Ajax ) are known from papyri . The Seikilos epitaph (2c BC) is a complete song (although possibly for solo voice). One of the latest examples, Oxyrhynchus hymn (3c)

2772-507: The Choralis Constantinus of Heinrich Isaac and the contrapuntal techniques of his serial music may be informed by this study. The Baroque period in music is associated with the development around 1600 of the figured bass and the basso continuo system. The figured bass part was performed by the basso continuo group, which at minimum included a chord-playing instrument (e.g., pipe organ , harpsichord , lute ) and

2856-454: The Anglican and Roman Catholic churches; far more common however is the performance of anthems or motets at designated times in the service. 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

2940-551: The Magnificat and the cantatas. A point of hot controversy today is the so-called "Rifkin hypothesis," which re-examines the famous " Entwurff " Bach's 1730 memo to the Leipzig City Council ( A Short but Most Necessary Draft for a Well Appointed Church Music ) calling for at least 12 singers. In light of Bach's responsibility to provide music to four churches and be able to perform double choir compositions with

3024-626: The Renaissance , sacred choral music was the principal type of formally notated music in Western Europe. Throughout the era, hundreds of masses and motets (as well as various other forms) were composed for a cappella choir, though there is some dispute over the role of instruments during certain periods and in certain areas. Some of the better-known composers of this time include Guillaume Dufay , Josquin des Prez , Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina , John Dunstable , and William Byrd ;

3108-442: 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 (whether or not they actually occupy the quire ), whereas a chorus performs in theatres or concert halls, but this distinction is not rigid. Choirs may sing without instruments, or accompanied by

3192-513: The motet (most notably the isorhythmic motet), which, unlike the Renaissance motet, describes a composition with different texts sung simultaneously in different voices. The first evidence of polyphony with more than one singer per part comes in the Old Hall Manuscript (1420, though containing music from the late 14th century), in which there are apparent divisi , one part dividing into two simultaneously sounding notes. During

3276-455: The timpani , bass drum , snare drum , and any other percussion instruments called for in a score (e.g., triangle, glockenspiel , chimes, cymbals, wood blocks, etc.). In Baroque music (1600–1750) and music from the early Classical period music (1750–1820), the percussion parts in orchestral works may only include timpani. A wind orchestra or concert band is a large classical ensemble generally made up of between 40 and 70 musicians from

3360-422: The wind machine or cannons . When orchestras perform music from the 20th century or the 21st century, occasionally instruments such as electric guitar, theremin , or even an electronic synthesizer may be used. A vocal group is a performing ensemble of vocalists who sing and harmonize together. The first well-known vocals groups emerged in the 19th century, and the style had reached widespread popularity by

3444-430: The wind quintet , usually consisting of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn; the brass quintet , consisting of two trumpets, one horn, a trombone, and a tuba; and the reed quintet, consisting of an oboe, a soprano clarinet, a saxophone, a bass clarinet, and a bassoon. Classical chamber ensembles of six (sextet), seven (septet), or eight musicians (octet) are fairly common; the use of latinate terms for larger groups

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3528-489: The "Great" Mass in C minor and Requiem in D minor, the latter of which is highly regarded). Haydn became more interested in choral music near the end of his life following his visits to England in the 1790s, when he heard various Handel oratorios performed by large forces; he wrote a series of masses beginning in 1797 and his two great oratorios The Creation and The Seasons . Beethoven wrote only two masses, both intended for liturgical use, although his Missa solemnis

3612-529: The "Palestrina style" to this day, especially as codified by the 18th century music theorist Johann Joseph Fux . Composers of the early 20th century also wrote in Renaissance-inspired 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 Webern wrote his dissertation on

3696-574: The 1940s. Vocal groups can come in several different forms, including: A group that plays popular music or military music is usually called a band; a drum and bugle corps is a type of the latter. These bands perform a wide range of music, ranging from arrangements of jazz orchestral, or popular music to military-style marches. Drum corps perform on brass and percussion instruments only. Drum and Bugle Corps incorporate costumes, hats, and pageantry in their performances. Other band types include: See List of musical band types for more. Women have

3780-608: The 20th century. Secular choral music in the United States was popularized by groups such as the Dale Warland Singers throughout the late 20th century. The Big Choral Census online survey was established to find out how many choirs there were in the UK, of what type, with how many members, singing what type of music and with what sort of funding. Results estimated that there were some 40,000 choral groups operating in

3864-591: The Animals , is called an undecet , and a group of twelve is called a duodecet (see Latin numerical prefixes ). A soloist playing unaccompanied (e.g., a pianist playing a solo piano piece or a cellist playing a Bach suite for unaccompanied cello ) is not an ensemble because it only contains one musician. A string quartet consists of two violins , a viola , and a cello . There is a vast body of music written for string quartets, making it an important genre in classical music . A woodwind quartet usually features

3948-584: The Catholic Church. This tradition of unison 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

4032-732: The Purwa Caraka Music Studio Choir of Indonesia began the trend when they covered children's songs in a choral arrangement for the film Surat Kecil untuk Tuhan . Apart from their roles in liturgy and entertainment, choirs and choruses may also have social-service functions, including for mental health treatment or as therapy for homeless and disadvantaged people, like the Choir of Hard Knocks or for special groups such as Military Wives . Databases Professional organizations Resources Media Reading Musical ensemble Music ensembles typically have

4116-449: The UK and over 2 million people singing regularly in a choir. Over 30 percent of the groups listed described themselves a community choirs, half of the choirs listed sing contemporary music although singing classical music is still popular. Most choirs are self funding. It is thought that the increase in popularity of singing together in groups has been fed to some extent in the UK by TV progammes such as Gareth Malone 's 'The Choir'. In 2017,

4200-400: The addition of a double bass. Terms such as " piano quintet " or "clarinet quintet" frequently refer to a string quartet plus a fifth instrument. Mozart 's Clarinet Quintet is similarly a piece written for an ensemble consisting of two violins, a viola, a cello, and a clarinet, the last being the exceptional addition to a "normal" string quartet. Some other quintets in classical music are

4284-495: 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. More experienced choirs may sing with the voices all mixed. Sometimes singers of the same voice are grouped in pairs or threes. 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

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4368-532: The bottom that indicated the handle. The Halle Orchestra reported that Daniel Turk used a baton in 1810, with motions so exuberant that he occasionally hit the chandelier above his head and showered himself with glass. Louis Spohr claimed to have introduced the baton to England on 10 April 1820, while conducting his second symphony with the Philharmonic Society in London . Witnesses noted that

4452-417: The centre and had placed himself on a high seat, waving a golden staff, and the players on the flute and cythara were...placed in a circle around him...now when Pherekydes with his golden staff gave the signal, all the art-experienced men began in one and the same time... On 8 January 1687, Jean-Baptiste Lully was conducting a Te Deum to celebrate Louis XIV of France 's recent recovery from illness. As

4536-582: The chapel" and much unaccompanied music today is secular ). Accompanying instruments vary widely, from only one instrument (a piano or pipe organ) 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 one or many locations such as

4620-434: 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. 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

4704-413: The conductor "sits there and turns over the leaves of the score but after all, he cannot, without ... his baton, lead on his musical army". It is more likely that he used his baton in rehearsal than in concert. It was 1825 when George Smart reported that he sometimes 'beat time in front with a short stick'. When Felix Mendelssohn returned to London in 1832, despite objections from violin leaders, he

4788-416: The conductor or choirmaster/mistress are to unify performers , set the tempo , execute clear preparations and beats ( meter ), and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble. In most choirs, the same individual acts as musical director (responsible for deciding the repertoire and engaging soloists and accompanists), chorus master/mistress (or répétiteur) (responsible for training and rehearsing

4872-549: The context of liturgy . 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 which use a contemporary worship format use

4956-657: The emerging German tradition exist (the cantatas of Dietrich Buxtehude being a prime example), though the Lutheran church cantata did not assume its more codified, recognizable form until the early 18th century. Georg Philipp Telemann (based in Frankfurt) wrote over 1000 cantatas, many of which were engraved and published (e.g. his Harmonische Gottesdienst ) and Christoph Graupner (based in Darmstadt) over 1400. The cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) are perhaps

5040-452: 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 (e.g., regarding tempo, repetitions of sections, assignment of vocal solos and so on), work out their interpretation, and relay their vision to the singers. Choral conductors may also have to conduct instrumental ensembles such as orchestras if

5124-490: The gender composition of heavy metal bands , it has been said that "[h]eavy metal performers are almost exclusively male" "...[a]t least until the mid-1980s" apart from "...exceptions such as Girlschool ". However, "...now [in the 2010s] maybe more than ever–strong metal women have put up their dukes and got down to it," "carv[ing] out a considerable place for [them]selves". When Suzi Quatro emerged in 1973, "no other prominent female musician worked in rock simultaneously as

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5208-538: 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 with many choirs throughout the world today. The madrigal , a partsong conceived for amateurs to sing in a chamber setting, originated at this period. Although madrigals were initially dramatic settings of unrequited-love poetry or mythological stories in Italy, they were imported into England and merged with

5292-576: The grandeur offered by instrumental accompaniment. 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's Schicksalslied and Nänie . 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

5376-423: The institutions in which they operate: Some choirs are categorized by the type of music they perform, such as In the United States, middle schools and high schools often offer choir as a class or activity. Some choirs participate in competitions. One kind of choir popular in high schools is show choir . During middle school and high school students' voices are changing. Although girls experience voice change , it

5460-655: The leader of the viola section is called the "principal viola"). Conductors are also used in jazz big bands and in some very large rock or pop ensembles (e.g., a rock concert that includes a string section , a horn section , and a choir that accompanies a rock band's performance). In Western classical music, smaller ensembles are called chamber music ensembles. The terms duo , trio , quartet , quintet , sextet , septet , octet , nonet , and decet describe groups of two up to ten musicians, respectively. A group of eleven musicians, such as found in The Carnival of

5544-420: The manual and bodily movements associated with directing an ensemble of musicians. Modern batons are generally made of a lightweight wood, fiberglass or carbon fiber which is tapered to a comfortable grip called a "bulb" that is usually made of cork, oak, walnut, rosewood, or occasionally aluminium and that may be tailored to a conductor's needs. Professional conductors often have personal specifications for

5628-481: The more dancelike balletto , celebrating carefree songs of the seasons, or eating and drinking. To most English speakers, the word madrigal now refers to the latter, rather than to madrigals proper, which refers to a poetic form of lines consisting of seven and eleven syllables each. The interaction of sung voices in Renaissance polyphony influenced Western music for centuries. Composers are routinely trained in

5712-454: The most recognizable (and often-performed) contribution to this repertoire: his obituary mentions five complete cycles of his cantatas , of which three, comprising some 200 works, are known today, in addition to motets . Bach himself rarely used the term cantata. Motet refers to his church music without orchestra accompaniment, but instruments playing colla parte with the voices. His works with accompaniment consists of his Passions , Masses ,

5796-408: The opera. Conductors view their gestures as the primary means to communicate musical ideas, whether or not they choose to use batons. Leonard Bernstein is quoted as saying, "If one [the conductor] uses a baton, the baton itself must be a living thing, charged with a kind of electricity, which makes it an instrument of meaning in its tiniest movement." The usual way of holding the baton is between

5880-695: The other choir in a musical dialogue. Consideration is also given to the spacing of the singers. Studies have found that not only the actual formation, but the amount of space (both laterally and circumambiently) affects the perception of sound by choristers and auditors. The origins of choral music are found in traditional music , as singing in big groups is extremely widely spread in traditional cultures (both singing in one part, or in unison , like in Ancient Greece, as well as singing in parts, or in harmony , like in contemporary European choral music). The oldest unambiguously choral repertory that survives

5964-464: The professional and advanced amateur or semi-professional levels. 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

6048-475: The quartet of soloists also featured in these works. Choirs are often led by a conductor or choirmaster/mistress or a 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: Thomas Tallis wrote a 40-part motet entitled Spem in alium , for eight choirs of five parts each; Krzysztof Penderecki 's Stabat Mater

6132-401: The reasons that there are rarely mixed gender bands is that "bands operate as tight-knit units in which homosocial solidarity – social bonds between people of the same sex... – plays a crucial role." In the 1960s pop music scene, "[s]inging was sometimes an acceptable pastime for a girl, but playing an instrument...simply wasn't done." "The rebellion of rock music was largely a male rebellion;

6216-533: The same time, the Cecilian movement attempted a restoration of the pure Renaissance style in Catholic churches. In the United States, development of mixed choirs was pioneered by groups such as The St. Olaf Choir and Westminster Choir College . These groups were characterized by arrangements of hymns and other sacred works of christian nature which helped define the choral sound of the United States for most of

6300-493: The singers), and conductor (responsible for directing the performance). 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 he or she 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

6384-704: The spatial separation of individual voice lines, an otherwise valuable feature for the audience, and that it eliminates sectional resonance, which lessens the effective volume of the chorus. 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 (such as works in the Venetian polychoral style ). Some composers actually specify that choirs should be separated, such as in Benjamin Britten 's War Requiem . Some composers use separated choirs to create "antiphonal" effects, in which one choir seems to "answer"

6468-512: The thumb and the first two fingers with the grip in against the palm of the hand. The baton is usually held in the right hand though some left-handed conductors, for instance Paavo Berglund , hold it in the left. Young left-handed conductors are, however, sometimes encouraged to learn right-handed conducting. Some conductors like Pierre Boulez , Georges Prêtre , Leopold Stokowski , Valery Gergiev , Dimitri Mitropoulos , Kurt Masur , Seiji Ozawa and Yuri Temirkanov , however, choose not to hold

6552-457: The timpani, bass drum, snare drum, and any other percussion instruments called for in a score (e.g., triangle, glockenspiel, chimes, cymbals, wood blocks, etc.). When orchestras perform baroque music (from the 17th century and early 18th century), they may also use a harpsichord or pipe organ , to play the continuo part. When orchestras perform Romantic-era music (from the 19th century), they may also use harps or unusual instruments such as

6636-402: The use of the baton, orchestral ensembles were conducted from the harpsichord or the first violin lead. Conductors first began to use violin bows or rolled pieces of paper before the modern baton was introduced. The first reported use of the conducting staff in a performance dates back to 709 BC, during which the leader, "Pherekydes of Patrae , giver of rhythm" had, ...stationed himself in

6720-412: The various sections should be arranged on stage. It is the conductor's decision on where the different voice types are placed. In symphonic choirs it is common (though by no means universal) to order the choir behind the orchestra 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

6804-607: The women—often, in the 1950s and '60s, girls in their teens—in rock usually sang songs as personæ utterly dependent on their macho boyfriends..." Philip Auslander says that "Although there were many women in rock by the late 1960s, most performed only as singers, a traditionally feminine position in popular music." Though some women played instruments in American all-female garage rock bands , none of these bands achieved more than regional success. So they "did not provide viable templates for women's on-going participation in rock". About

6888-786: The woodwind, brass, and percussion families, along with the double bass. The concert band has a larger number and variety of wind instruments than the symphony orchestra but does not have a string section (although a single double bass is common in concert bands). The woodwind section of a concert band consists of piccolo, flutes, oboes (one doubling English horn), bassoons (one doubling contrabassoon), soprano clarinets (one doubling E ♭ clarinet, one doubling alto clarinet), bass clarinets (one doubling contrabass clarinet or contra-alto clarinet), alto saxophones (one doubling soprano saxophone), tenor saxophone, and baritone saxophone. The brass section consists of horns, trumpets or cornets, trombones, euphoniums, and tubas. The percussion section consists of

6972-542: Was a pioneer) extended this concept into concert-length works, usually based on Biblical or moral stories. A pinnacle of baroque choral music, (particularly oratorio), may be found in George Frideric Handel 's works, notably Messiah and Israel in Egypt . While the modern chorus of hundreds had to await the growth of Choral Societies and his centennial commemoration concert, we find Handel already using

7056-579: Was the common practice, he was beating time by banging a long staff (a precursor to the baton; the French word bâton actually meaning "staff") against the floor when he struck his toe, creating an abscess . The wound turned gangrenous , but Lully refused to have his toe amputated and the infection spread, resulting in his death on 22 March. Different eyewitnesses to the premiere performance of Joseph Haydn 's Creation in April of 1798 indicate that Haydn used

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