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98-793: Rheingauer Kantorei (Rheingau chorale), now Neue Rheingauer Kantorei , is a mixed choir of the Rheingau region in Germany, performing mostly sacred music in services and concerts. The choir was founded in 1977 by Frank Stähle as the choir of the Evangelisches Dekanat Wiesbaden-Rheingau (Protestant deanery Wiesbaden-Rheingau), merging two groups, the church choir of the Protestant parish in Geisenheim and singers from Wiesbaden. The purpose of

196-482: 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

294-520: 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

392-503: A half cadence on the dominant . The Kyrie follows without pause ( attacca ). It is a double fugue on the famous theme of the cross (connecting the four notes shows the shape of the cross) used by many composers, such as Bach, Handel, and Haydn. The counter-subject comes from the final chorus of the Dettingen Anthem, HWV 265. The first three measures of the altos and basses are shown below. The contrapuntal motifs of

490-412: 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. 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

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

686-408: 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

784-568: 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

882-418: A quartet, adopts the key of the submediant , B ♭ major (which can also be considered the relative of the subdominant of the key of D minor). The Sanctus's ending on a D major cadence necessitates a mediant jump to this new key. The Benedictus is constructed on three types of phrases : the (A) theme, which is first presented by the orchestra and reprised from m. 4 by the alto and from m. 6 by

980-446: 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 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

1078-485: 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

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1176-440: 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

1274-487: A solo tenor trombone, unaccompanied, in accordance with the usual German translation of the Latin tuba , Posaune (trombone). Two measures later, the bass soloist enters, imitating the same theme. At m. 7, there is a fermata , the only point in all the work at which a solo cadenza occurs. The final quarter notes of the bass soloist herald the arrival of the tenor, followed by the alto and soprano in dramatic fashion. On

1372-606: A soloist. In 1983, excerpts from the Psalmen Davids by Schütz were combined with Mozart's Vesperae de Dominica . In a second concert, the group sang Schubert's Mass No. 6 in E-flat major. In 1985, the choir performed Karol Szymanowski's Stabat Mater and Leoš Janáček' Glagolitic Mass with organist Elisabeth Maranca and the Philharmonie Südwestfalen  [ de ] . In 1986,

1470-472: 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 the conductor or choirmaster/mistress are to unify performers , set the tempo , execute clear preparations and beats ( meter ), and to listen critically and shape

1568-495: 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

1666-515: A surprising effect, the Rex syllables of the choir fall on the second beats of the measures, even though this is the "weak" beat. The choir then adopts the dotted rhythm of the orchestra, forming what Wolff calls baroque music 's form of " topos of the homage to the sovereign", or, more simply put, that this musical style is a standard form of salute to royalty, or, in this case, divinity. This movement consists of only 22 measures, but this short stretch

1764-767: 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

1862-453: 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

1960-456: 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

2058-516: 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 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

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2156-519: Is heard again on the text Juste Judex and ends on a hemiola in mm. 66–67. Then, the second theme is reused on ante diem rationis ; after the four measures of orchestra from 68 to 71, the first theme is developed alone. The recapitulation intervenes in m. 93. The initial structure reproduces itself with the first theme on the text Preces meae and then in m. 99 on Sed tu bonus . The second theme reappears one final time on m. 106 on Sed tu bonus and concludes with three hemiolas. The final measures of

2254-449: 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

2352-479: 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 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

2450-458: 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 a church, opera house, school or village hall. In some cases choirs join up to become one "mass" choir that performs for

2548-545: 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

2646-510: Is rich in variation: homophonic writing and contrapuntal choral passages alternate many times and finish on a quasi-unaccompanied choral cadence, landing on an open D chord (as seen previously in the Kyrie). At 130 measures, the Recordare ("Remember") is the work's longest movement, as well as the first in triple meter ( 4 ); the movement is a setting of no fewer than seven stanzas of

2744-597: 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

2842-420: Is sung by the alto and bass (from m. 14), followed by the soprano and tenor (from m. 20). Each time, the theme concludes with a hemiola (mm. 18–19 and 24–25). The second theme arrives on Ne me perdas , in which the accompaniment contrasts with that of the first theme. Instead of descending scales, the accompaniment is limited to repeated chords. This exposition concludes with four orchestral measures based on

2940-495: 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)

3038-477: 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 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

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3136-507: 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

3234-530: The Dies irae . The form of this piece is somewhat similar to sonata form , with an exposition around two themes ( mm. 1–37), a development of two themes (mm. 38–92) and a recapitulation (mm. 93–98). In the first 13 measures, the basset horns are the first to present the first theme, clearly inspired by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach 's Sinfonia in D Minor, the theme is enriched by a magnificent counterpoint by cellos in descending scales that are reprised throughout

3332-456: 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

3430-522: The Last Judgment ). This material is repeated with harmonic development before the texture suddenly drops to a trembling unison figure with more tremolo strings evocatively painting the " Quantus tremor " text. Mozart's textual inspiration is again apparent in the Tuba mirum ("Hark, the trumpet") movement, which is introduced with a sequence of three notes in arpeggio , played in B ♭ major by

3528-551: 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

3626-787: The Marktkirche . In 1979, Bach's St Matthew Passion was performed in St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden and in Worms , in a collaboration with the Wormser Kurrende  [ de ] (itinerant youth choir). Mendelssohn's Elias was performed with the Radiosinfonieorchester Frankfurt in Geisenheim and the Marktkirche . Erich Wenk sang the title part, Klesie Kelly the soprano parts. In 1980,

3724-626: 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 ;

3822-403: The counter-melody of the first theme (mm. 34–37). The development of these two themes begins in m. 38 on Quaerens me ; the second theme is not recognizable except by the structure of its accompaniment. At m. 46, it is the first theme that is developed beginning from Tantus labor and concludes with two measures of hemiola at mm. 50–51. After two orchestral bars (mm. 52–53), the first theme

3920-432: The counterpoint of the basset horns mixes with the line of the cello. The rest of the movement consists of variations on this writing. At m. 23, phrase (A) is reprised on a F pedal and introduces a recapitulation of the primary theme from the bass and tenor from mm. 28 and 30, respectively. Phrase (B) follows at m. 33, although without the broken cadence, then repeats at m. 38 with the broken cadence once more. This carries

4018-513: 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

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4116-489: 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

4214-529: 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

4312-608: 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

4410-584: 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

4508-716: The Geisenheim group performed Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri in Geisenheim. The complete group sang Honegger's König David in the Marktkirche , with the Radiosinfonieorchester Frankfurt , and soloists Klesie Kelly, Claudia Eder as both young David and the Witch of Endor , and Gerd Nienstedt as the narrator. A concert on 13 June 1981 combined Palestrina's Missa Papae Marcelli , performed by selected voices under assistant conductor Horst Werner, and Bruckner's Mass No. 2 in E minor for eight-part choir and brass. On 21 November 1981,

4606-541: The Lacrymosa. The trombones then announce the entry of the choir, which breaks into the theme, with the basses alone for the first measure, followed by imitation by the other parts. The chords play off syncopated and staggered structures in the accompaniment, thus underlining the solemn and steady nature of the music. A soprano solo is sung to the Te decet hymnus text in the tonus peregrinus . The choir continues, repeating

4704-472: The Last Judgment) is heard sotto voce , forte and then piano to bring the movement finally into a crescendo into a perfect cadence . A descending melody composed of dotted notes is played by the orchestra to announce the Rex tremendae majestatis ("King of tremendous majesty", i.e., God ), who is called by powerful cries from the choir on the syllable Rex during the orchestra's pauses. For

4802-609: The Mass in A major by César Franck , and in a third concert Bruckner's Mass No. 3 in F minor, again with the Folkwang Kammerorchester . A new choir, building on the tradition, was founded by Tassilo Schlenther in 2002, again expanding the choir of the Geisenheim protestantic parish. Venues for concerts have been the Rheingauer Dom , the basilica of Schloss Johannisberg , the basilica of Mittelheim ,

4900-765: The Neue Rheingauer Kantorei performed Haydn's Die Schöpfung with soloists Elisabeth Scholl , Daniel Sans and Andreas Pruys . Services included an Easter Vigil in Eberbach Abbey in 2013. The choir participated in a television portrait of the Hessischer Rundfunk about the Rheingau region by Günter Wewel , in the series Kein schöner Land . A concert in 2014, performed in the Geisenheim Protestant church,

4998-556: The Protestant church in Geisenheim and the Johanneskirche, Erbach  [ de ] . The group, not yet under the name, collaborated with the choirs of St. Martin, Idstein , performing in 1996 Rutter's Magnificat , in 1999 Puccini's Messa di Gloria and in 2001 Rutter's Requiem and Britten's The Company of Heaven for speakers, soloists, chorus and orchestra, all performed both in Idstein and Johannisberg. In 2009,

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5096-735: 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 Requiem (Mozart) The autograph manuscript shows

5194-487: The Requiem off as his own composition, as he is known to have done with other works. This plan was frustrated by a public benefit performance for Mozart's widow Constanze . She was responsible for a number of stories surrounding the composition of the work, including the claims that Mozart received the commission from a mysterious messenger who did not reveal the commissioner's identity, and that Mozart came to believe that he

5292-515: The Sequentia, but Süssmayr did not do so in his completion. The following table shows for the eight sections in Süssmayr's completion with their subdivisions: the title, vocal parts (solo soprano ( S ), alto ( A ), tenor ( T ) and bass ( B ) [in bold ] and four-part choir SATB ), tempo , key , and meter . The Requiem begins with a seven-measure instrumental introduction , in which

5390-450: 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,

5488-495: 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

5586-525: The blessed") with an arpeggiated accompaniment in strings. Finally, in the following stanza ( Oro supplex et acclinis ), there is a striking modulation from A minor to A ♭ minor. This spectacular descent from the opening key is repeated, now modulating to the key of F major. A final dominant seventh chord leads to the Lacrymosa . The chords begin piano on a rocking rhythm in 8 , intercut with quarter rests, which will be reprised by

5684-410: The choir after two measures, on Lacrimosa dies illa ("This tearful day"). Then, after two measures, the sopranos begin a diatonic progression, in disjointed eighth-notes on the text resurget ("will be reborn"), then legato and chromatic on a powerful crescendo . The choir is forte by m. 8, at which point Mozart's contribution to the movement is interrupted by his death. Süssmayr brings

5782-769: The choir performed in the Marktkirche Bach's Mass in B minor as part of the Vierte Wiesbadener Bachwochen (Fourth Wiesbaden Bach Weeks), organized by Martin Lutz . Stähle, who was director of Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium from 1979, passed the choir to Horst Werner, who had studied at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt with Helmuth Rilling . He first conducted Haydn's Harmoniemesse and Bach's cantata Wachet! betet! betet! wachet! BWV 70 , with Christoph Prégardien as

5880-584: The choir to a reference of the Introit and ends on an Amen cadence . Discovery of a fragmentary Amen fugue in Mozart's hand has led to speculation that it may have been intended for the Requiem. Indeed, many modern completions (such as Levin's ) complete Mozart's fragment. Some sections of this movement are quoted in the Requiem Mass of Franz von Suppé , who was a great admirer of Mozart. Ray Robinson,

5978-601: The choir used the balconies of the Marktkirche to perform several settings of the Magnificat , including some polychoral compositions, followed by a concert of Mozart's Requiem with the Folkwang Kammerorchester Essen . Helmut Hampel reported for the Wiesbadener Kurier that the Dies irae was shattering and Confutatis of eerie density. In 1987, the choir performed the second of

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6076-712: The choir was to sing in church services of the region and to sing oratorios in concert. Main venues for the concerts were the Marktkirche in Wiesbaden and the Rheingauer Dom in Geisenheim. The groups rehearsed separately in Geisenheim and performed the concerts together. In 1978, the choir performed Handel's Messias in the Rheingauer Dom and the Lutherkirche in Wiesbaden , and Ein deutsches Requiem by Johannes Brahms in Geisenheim and

6174-435: The classical period become archaic, lending the piece an ancient air. The Dies irae ("Day of Wrath") opens with a show of orchestral and choral might with tremolo strings, syncopated figures and repeated chords in the brass. A rising chromatic scurry of sixteenth-notes leads into a chromatically rising harmonic progression with the chorus singing " Quantus tremor est futurus " ("what trembling there will be" in reference to

6272-483: The conductor will often give verbal instructions to the ensemble, since they generally also serve 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 (e.g., regarding tempo, repetitions of sections, assignment of vocal solos and so on), work out their interpretation, and relay their vision to

6370-549: 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

6468-657: 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

6566-709: The finished and orchestrated movement of Introit in Mozart's hand, and detailed drafts of the Kyrie and the sequence of Dies irae as far as the first eight bars of the Lacrimosa , and the Offertory . It cannot be shown to what extent Süssmayr may have depended on now lost "scraps of paper" for the remainder; he later claimed the Sanctus and Benedictus and the Agnus Dei as his own. Walsegg probably intended to pass

6664-752: The four soloists enter a canon on Sed signifer sanctus Michael , switching between minor (in ascent) and major (in descent). Between these thematic passages are forte phrases where the choir enters, often in unison and dotted rhythm, such as on Rex gloriae ("King of glory") or de ore leonis ("[Deliver them] from the mouth of the lion"). Two choral fugues follow, on ne absorbeat eas tartarus, ne cadant in obscurum ("may Tartarus not absorb them, nor may they fall into darkness") and Quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini eius ("What once to Abraham you promised and to his seed"). The movement concludes homophonically in G major. The Hostias opens in E ♭ major in 4 , with fluid vocals. After 20 measures,

6762-581: The four versions of Bach's St John Passion , as the opening of four Passion compositions by four Wiesbaden-based choirs, including Bach's St Matthew Passion with the Schiersteiner Kantorei . Hampel noted in a review that Werner, also a musicologist, supplied solid historic background for the second version in the program notes and a preceding lecture, and that he managed to fill the turba choruses with energy, in diction and even more in dramatic expression. A second concert presented

6860-539: 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

6958-576: 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

7056-423: 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

7154-481: 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

7252-454: 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 ,

7350-527: The movement into the dominant of G minor, followed by a reprise of the Quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini eius fugue. The words "Quam olim da capo" are likely to have been the last Mozart wrote; this portion of the manuscript has been missing since it was stolen at 1958 World's Fair in Brussels by a person whose identity remains unknown. The Sanctus is the first movement written entirely by Süssmayr, and

7448-506: The movement recede to simple orchestral descending contrapuntal scales. The Confutatis ("From the accursed") begins with a rhythmic and dynamic sequence of strong contrasts and surprising harmonic turns. Accompanied by the basso continuo , the tenors and basses burst into a forte vision of the infernal, on a dotted rhythm. The accompaniment then ceases alongside the tenors and basses, and the sopranos and altos enter softly and sotto voce , singing Voca me cum benedictis ("Call upon me with

7546-403: The movement switches to an alternation of forte and piano exclamations of the choir, while progressing from B ♭ major towards B ♭ minor, then F major, D ♭ major, A ♭ major, F minor, C minor and E ♭ major. An overtaking chromatic melody on Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam ("Make them, O Lord, cross over from death to life") finally carries

7644-624: The movement to a new Mozartian cadence in mm. 47 to 49 and concludes on phrase (C), which reintroduces the Hosanna fugue from the Sanctus movement, in the new key of the Benedictus. Homophony dominates the Agnus Dei. The text is repeated three times, always with chromatic melodies and harmonic reversals, going from D minor to F major, C major, and finally B ♭ major. According to

7742-419: The movement. This counterpoint of the first theme prolongs the orchestral introduction with chords, recalling the beginning of the work and its rhythmic and melodic shiftings (the first basset horn begins a measure after the second but a tone higher, the first violins are likewise in sync with the second violins but a quarter note shifted, etc.). The introduction is followed by the vocal soloists; their first theme

7840-663: The music scholar and president (from 1969 to 1987) of the Westminster Choir College , suggests that Süssmayr used materials from Credo of one of Mozart's earlier Masses, Mass in C major, K. 220 "Sparrow" in completing this movement. The first movement of the Offertorium , the Domine Jesu, begins on a piano theme consisting of an ascending progression on a G minor triad . This theme will later be varied in various keys, before returning to G minor when

7938-508: The only movement of the Requiem to have a key signature with sharps: D major, generally used for the entry of trumpets in the Baroque era. After a succinct glorification of the Lord follows a short fugue in 4 on Hosanna in excelsis ("Glory [to God] in the highest"), noted for its syncopated rhythm, and for its motivic similarity to the Quam olim Abrahae fugue. The Benedictus,

8036-697: 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

8134-466: 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

8232-473: The psalmtone while singing the Exaudi orationem meam section. Then, the principal theme is treated by the choir and the orchestra in downward-gliding sixteenth-notes. The courses of the melodies, whether held up or moving down, change and interlace amongst themselves, while passages in counterpoint and in unison (e.g., Et lux perpetua ) alternate; all this creates the charm of this movement, which finishes with

8330-452: The related alto clarinet , even though this changes the sonority . The vocal forces consist of soprano , contralto , tenor , and bass soloists and an SATB mixed choir . Süssmayr's completion divides the Requiem into eight sections: All sections from the Sanctus onwards are not present in Mozart's manuscript fragment. Mozart may have intended to include the Amen fugue at the end of

8428-533: 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

8526-538: 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. 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

8624-422: The soprano. The word benedictus is held, which stands in opposition with the (B) phrase, which is first seen at m. 10, also on the word benedictus but with a quick and chopped-up rhythm. The phrase develops and rebounds at m. 15 with a broken cadence . The third phrase, (C), is a solemn ringing where the winds respond to the chords with a staggering harmony, as shown in a Mozartian cadence at mm. 21 and 22, where

8722-498: 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 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

8820-704: 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"

8918-423: The text Cum vix justus sit securus ("When only barely may the just one be secure"), there is a switch to a homophonic segment sung by the quartet at the same time, articulating, without accompaniment, the cum and vix on the "strong" (1st and 3rd), then on the "weak" (2nd and 4th) beats, with the violins and continuo responding each time; this "interruption" (which one may interpret as the interruption preceding

9016-422: The theme of this fugue include variations on the two themes of the Introit. At first, upward diatonic series of sixteenth-notes are replaced by chromatic series, which has the effect of augmenting the intensity. This passage shows itself to be a bit demanding in the upper voices, particularly for the soprano voice. A final portion in a slower (Adagio) tempo ends on an "empty" fifth, a construction which had during

9114-412: 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

9212-467: The woodwinds (first bassoons, then basset horns) present the principal theme of the work in imitative counterpoint . The first five measures of this passage (without the accompaniment) are shown below. This theme is modeled after Handel 's The ways of Zion do mourn , HWV 264. Many parts of the work make reference to this passage, notably in the coloratura in the Kyrie fugue and in the conclusion of

9310-542: 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

9408-497: 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 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 ,

9506-402: Was dedicated to contemporary Scandinavian music including works by Ola Gjeilo and Knut Nystedt . 2014 also saw a remarkable performance of Verdi's Requiem . A reviewer noted the choir's flexibility to sing different styles of music. Mixed choir A choir ( / ˈ k w aɪər / KWIRE ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin chorus , meaning 'a dance in a circle')

9604-527: Was writing the Requiem for his own funeral. In addition to the Süssmayr version, a number of alternative completions have been developed by composers and musicologists in the 20th and 21st centuries. The Requiem is scored for 2 basset horns in F, 2 bassoons , 2 trumpets in D, 3 trombones ( alto , tenor , and bass ), timpani (2 drums), violins , viola , and basso continuo ( cello , double bass , and organ ). The basset horn parts are sometimes played on conventional BB or A clarinets and sometimes

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