Choir (architecture)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Choir (disambiguation).
The placement of the choir within a large Latin cross church
The choir of Bristol Cathedral, with the nave seen through the chancel screen, so looking west

A choir, also sometimes called quire,

Gothic Revival
revived them as a distinct feature.

As an architectural term "choir" remains distinct from the actual location of any singing choir – these may be located in various places, and often sing from a choir-loft, often over the door at the liturgical western end.[2] In modern churches, the choir may be located centrally behind the altar, or the pulpit.[3] The place where the singers are based is sometimes called the ritual choir, as opposed to the architectural choir or constructional choir.[4]

The back-choir or

high altar in the choir of a church, in which there may be a small altar standing back to back with the other.[5]

History

The Quire in Palencia Cathedral in northern Spain, an example of a monastic quire

In the

Honorius of Autun
write that the term is derived from the "corona", the circle of clergy or singers who surrounded the altar.

When first introduced, the choir was attached to the

presbytery) and choir moved eastward to their current position. In some churches, such as Westminster Cathedral, the choir is arranged in the apse behind the altar
.

The architectural details of the choir developed in response to its function as the place where the

organ may be located here, or in a loft elsewhere in the church. Some cathedrals have a retro-choir behind the high altar, opening eastward towards the chapels (chantries
) in the eastern extremity.

After the Reformation Protestant churches generally moved the altar (now often called the

High Church objected to allowing a large group of laity into the chancel.[8]
Different approaches to worship in the 20th century again tended to push altars in larger churches forward, to be closer to the congregation, and the chancel again risks being a less used area of the church.

Seating

Illustration showing monk's stalls at Anellau, France, 14th century

The choir area is occupied by sometimes finely carved and decorated wooden seats known as choir stalls, where the clergy sit, stand or kneel during services. The choir may be furnished either with long benches (pews) or individual choir stalls. There may be several rows of seating running parallel to the walls of the church.

The use of choir stalls (as opposed to benches) is more traditional in

monasteries and collegiate churches. Monastic choir stalls are often fitted with seats that fold up when the monastics stand and fold down when they sit. Often the hinged seat will have a misericord
(small wooden seat) on the underside on which he can lean while standing during the long services. The upper part of the monk's stall is so shaped as to provide a headrest while sitting, and arm rests when standing. Monasteries will often have strict rules as to when the monastics may sit and when they must stand during the services.

Choir benches are more common in parish churches. Each bench may have padded kneelers attached to the back of it so that the person behind may kneel at the appropriate times during services. The front row will often have a long prie-dieu running in front of it for the choir members to place their books on, and which may also be fitted with kneelers.

In a cathedral, the bishop's throne or cathedra is usually located in this space.[9]

Image gallery

See also

References

  1. OED
    , "Choir"
  2. ISBN 9780898706314
    . In monasteries, when the choir of schola cantorum was composed of religious, it was usually within the cancelli in front of the sanctuary. The liturgical movement of the Baroque age removed it to a choir loft at the back of the church, thus enabling the sanctuary to be more integrated with the nave.
  3. ISBN 9781556356513
    . One of the two dominant types is the concert-stage arrangement with tiers of choir stalls behind a pulpit platform at the foot of which appears the altar-table. The other type is the so-called divided chancel with the choir stalls and altar-table within the chancel and the pulpit at one side of its entrance. In both cases the liturgical space allotted to the congregation tends to be similar: a long, rectangular nave.
  4. ^ "Ritual Choir from the McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia". McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia Online.
  5. ^  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Back-Choir". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  6. ^ Poole, Thomas Henry (1908). "Choir (1)". Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3.
  7. ^ "Choir". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 260–261.
  8. ISBN 1592449379, 9781592449378, google books
  9. ^ Gietmann, Gerhard (1912). "Stallsr" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

External links

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