Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

CHOIR (0. Fr. cuer from Lat. chorus; ...

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V06, Page 260 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

See also:

CHOIR (0. Fr. cuer from See also:Lat. See also:chorus; pronounced See also:quire, and until the end of the 17th See also:century so spelt, the spelling being altered to agree with the Fr. chceur)  , the See also:body of singers who perform the musical portion of the service in a See also:church, or the See also:place set apart for them . Any organized body of singers per-forming full See also:part choral See also:works or oratorios is also called a See also:choir . In See also:English cathedrals the choir is composed of men (vicars-choral or See also:lay clerks) and boys (choristers) . They are divided into two sets, sitting on the See also:north and See also:south sides of the See also:chancel respectively, called cantoris and decani, from being on the same See also:side as the cantor (See also:precentor) or the decanus (See also:dean) . This arrangement, together with the See also:custom of vesting choirmen and choristers in surplices (traditional only in cathedrals and collegiate churches), has, since the See also:middle of the 19th See also:century, been adopted in a large number of See also:parish and other churches . Surpliced choirs of See also:women have occasionally been introduced, notably in See also:America and the See also:British colonies, but the practice has no See also:warrant of traditional usage . In the See also:Roman See also:Catholic Church the choir plays a less conspicuous role than in the Church of See also:England, its members not being regarded as ministers of the church, and non-Catholics are allowed to sing in it . The singers at See also:Mass or other See also:solemn services are usually placed in a See also:gallery or some other inconspicuous place . The word " choir," indeed, formerly applied to all the See also:clergy taking part in services of the church, and the restriction of the See also:term to the singing men and boys, who were in their origin no more than the representatives to the use of the See also:grotesque . His See also:brother Gottfried (1728–1781) and son Wilhelm.(1765–1803) painted and engraved after the See also:style of See also:Daniel, and'sometimes co-operated with hitii .

End of Article: CHOIR (0. Fr. cuer from Lat. chorus; pronounced quire, and until the end of the 17th century so spelt, the spelling being altered to agree with the Fr. chceur)
[back]
GEORGIUS CHOEROBOSCUS (c. A.D. 600)
[next]
CESAR CHOISEUL

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click and select "copy." Paste it into a website, email, or other HTML document.