The Origins of the Modern Choir
(This paper last revised 10 October 1997 by Ewan Stewart)![[btn]](images/mkr2.jpg){kind=small}
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This paper has been prepared to present a brief introduction to the origins of the modern choir in it's various forms, based on research in available literature. It does not pretend to cover this subject comprehensively. If you have any comments, suggestions or criticisms, they would be welcomed if forwarded to Ewan Stewart. If there are any significant specialist streams of choir types that have been overlooked or described incorrectly, details would be especially welcome. The comments of David Wood, Diane Clark and Greer Garden are gratefully acknowledged, but the responsibility for this paper remains mine!
This Choral history is based on the western/European experience, because this has had the largest influence on the modern choir. In general, information about the origins of the modern choir and choral history have proven hard to find, but if available sources are anything to go by, the modern choral system has been little influenced by sources outside the western/European arena. Please note that many of the early dates given are approximate because of the limited historic record and lack of uniformity of musical skill at a particular period.
A "choir" may be defined as a group of singers singing with several voices to a part (Ref 2). This definition will not satisfy everybody, and indeed, the word choir and its cognates have had varying meaning in the past. However this definition is sufficient for this paper. The words "chorus" and "chorale" (when referring to a body of singers) may be taken to have the same meaning.
While this definition includes the performance of a group such as a church congregation, and allows the trivial "choir" of two voices in unison, it needs to be considered in the light of the musical purpose of a choir. Choirs may be said to exist to:
Not all these objectives are present in every choir or choral performance. However they all contribute to the significance of choirs as musical entities. A group of singers which meets the above definition, yet does not meet at least one of these objectives, is unlikely to be considered a choir in musical circles.
A choir may exist for a single particular occasion, periodically come into existance for particular related occasions, or may have a continuous existance as an organisation. Normally the reason for the existance of the choir is the intention to prepare and present music to an audience. Thus groups such as church congregations are not normally considered choirs (since they are their own audience), although at times they may be so recognised.
Forms of music notation have been known as early as Greek and Roman times, but these early musical notation systems were less capable than modern notation. This weakness limits modern understanding and performance of early music. Indeed, it originally made performance of all but the most simple written music a matter for experts of the day. Only from the 14th century did it become possible to record a reasonably complete description of what made up a particular musical work. Although this limitation in understanding early music notation remains, historians seem to feel they have a reasonably clear understanding of early methods of music performance.
Going further back in history, we can find evidence for the existance of music well beyond the earliest written records. The earliest evidence comes from preserved musical instruments and art works depicting them. The origins of singing almost certainly precede this evidence, since the voice is a natural instrument. (Indeed, I am confident that many modern critics would assert that much modern music still belongs to the prehistoric era and should be physically removed there without delay!).
In the pre-Christian era, the historic record tells us something of the Egyptian, Hebrew and Greek musical traditions, but the detail of the historic record becomes more clear with the coming of theChristian era. The Christian Church came to have a major part to play in forming and encouraging musical expression, derived largely from Hebrew and Roman ideas. On the other hand, relatively little is known about the secular music scene until around 1000AD (Ref 14), although there is little likelihood of significant differences between secular and sacred practice, because European education over this period centred around Church institutions. Modern research is extending our knowledge of the secular music scene in these early times, but since the impact of this on the development of the modern choir does not seem significant, this research will not be considered here.
The early Church had adopted existing musical ideas, and used choirs with
women in them until 578 AD. From this time however, women were discouraged
by the Church from involvement in
anything except domestic activity (Refs 2(b), 3). As a result, women became
limited in their musical expression to:
* private and family gatherings,
* Singing asmembers of a congregations,
* Singing as part of a convent choir.
Men continued to have much greater freedom of
expression while women could not sing publicly without damaging their reputation.
In the Christian era up to the 10th century, the most common form of musical performance was accompanied singing, and for religious purposes, group or choral singing was the norm. The music itself was that of a simple melody sung in unison, with each voice and instrument singing the same part. In the Church and the Jewish tradition, there were also solo singers who led the service. In many cases, the singing was presented by two choirs singing alternately (ie, antiphonally). Gregorian chant is thought to be typical of the music of this period, and is itself based on similar earlier forms (Ref 2(a)).
We can classify musical performances up to the end of the Middle Ages (say to the mid 15th century) in four ways. There were:
The reason for differences between these musical areas was principally the amount of patronage (money), and to a much lesser extent, education. Each area also used music for different purposes/functions. The relative wealth associated with each of these categories has substantially influenced the quality of the historic record regarding them. The dominant influence over this period was the Church, with the aristocracy also being significant. This reflects the then dominant role of the Church in society. Toward the end of the period, the influence of the aristocracy was becoming more significant, particularly because of its broader range of musical interests.
Least is known of the secular world of the fair and common people. What evidence exists implies that such secular music was usually presented by solo voices, whether as a single melodic line or later as polyphony (Ref 2(a)). This probably reflected the limited resources available. Other private performances were generally of this type as well, but available historic information is heavily biased toward the aristocracy, and reflects the influence of the Church and Court.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the Christian Church's influence on singing was exclusively for men. The early Christian era did see the involvement of women, but this was not again common until more modern times (although some professional women singers could be found in France and Italy from the early Renaissance period). However, because of the attraction of a wider voice range in singing than provided by the adult male voice, young boys were recruited into church choirs as trebles. This interest was sufficiently strong, that in England, St Pauls Cathedral and the Chapel Royal were given legal authority (in 1483, Ref 1) to compulsorily recruit boys from throughout England. (This authority does not appear to have been used extensively.)
Toward the end of the Middle Ages came the time of the minstrel and troubadour. The troubadours were composers and singers who accompanied themselves on instruments. They were often of aristocratic blood and were a valued part of the culture of chivalry. Both were normally solo singers rather than choral.
In contrast to the unison choirs of earlier times, Church based choral singing began to evolve from the 10th to the 16th century, through works with two parallel parts (Ref 5, Ref 6) to use the newer concepts of polyphony. Singing came to require professional or semi-professional singers singing one voice to a part, and music became very complex. Skilled singers were needed largely because of the increasing difficulty of the music and the limitations of available notation methods in producing a written score. At the extreme limit of the polyphonic development was a mass in 53 parts (Ref 2(a))! Polyphony utilising choirs came into existance from the 15th century, but was still hampered by the cost, limitations and complexity of available sheet music.
The madrigal as a musical form arose originally in the 13th century, in Italy. It was a transient musical form at this time, but appeared again in a new form in the 16th century. This latter form is the madrigal as it is commonly known today. It is generally considered to have again ceased to be a significant music form by the early 17th century. Madrigals were predominantly a secular music form, and a development of the polyphonic period. They were originally intended for solo voices (Ref 2(a)) singing multiple parts, and therefore requiring skilled male singers. Some madrigals were intended for choral performance and a few were written for female voices.
The beauty of the madrigal is still highly regarded today, and within the limitations of accepted music theory of the day, have not been excelled. In more recent times, the madrigal has been revived, generally as a choral music form.
The Middle Ages was followed by the Renaissance, and in this broad expansion of knowledge, music also developed. Reformation figures, such as Martin Luther (1483-1546), emphasised congregational singing where earlier the Church had emphasised professional singers and choirs for it's music. Hymns were composed to suit congregational singing, and some of them are still in use today. The new style encouraged church members to sing for their own pleasure, thus sowing the seeds of the later choral movement.
The introduction of what became a popular musical presentation in the form of Opera, at the end of the 16th century (Ref 1(h)) also had an impact. Opera began to introduce wider audiences to more formally composed music, as opposed to folk music. This music quickly came to be written for popular appreciation, and as well as lacking the complexity of the earlier Madrigal, included catchy tunes that were easy to sing.
Both Church congregational singing and (a little later) opera songs in this period developed the musical skills of a large cross-section of society, and laid the foundation for the choral music of the Oratorio as it developed in the 17th century (although this too started with professional singers).
A continuing interest in higher pitched voices to extend the available vocal range was initially met by trebles, as in the Middle Ages. In addition, the castrato male voice type was developed using surgery from the mid 16th century (a concept that is quite uncomfortable to most modern men!). However, the reformation began to alter social restrictions on public singing for women, (although public displays of any sort by women were still frowned on in England until the 18th-19th centuries,) and female voices came gradually to dominate the higher vocal ranges.
Aristocratic patronage continued to be a major influence on musical development in Europe until the beginning of the 19th century, when the increasing wealth of the middle classes began to supplant it. However, aristocratic patronage had no direct influence on musical development in North America. Patronage in North America, although limited initially, was left to the wealthy and middle classes nearly 200 years before they became a major factor in Europe. This has contributed to differences in the musical tradition between these regions (Ref 1(g)).
European ideas in the secular music sphere around the reformation were very different from today. Apart from the formal music of the church and court, there was much informal music in the home, family and private group. Every person of culture was expected to be able to sing or play in some degree. The majority of the population would have lacked skills in this because of the limited availability of education, but musical skills were an accepted part of education. The common people lacked access to formal music, as well as education. The first public concerts were introduced as part of theatre entertainment in the early 17th century, and the modern idea of a public concert for a paying audience was first introduced in 1672. These concerts were then mainly accessible to the wealthy. For the common people, the only connection with the dominant music streams was through the Church, and parish churches could afford only a limited musical base (in contrast to the Cathedrals).
The centres of of musical expression for the common people around the time of the Reformation would have been the public houses and the barber shop. Pubs provided some entertainment for their customers as today (the extent of which is not fully known). On the other hand, the profession of barber carried many more responsibilities than today. The barber was the local dentist and surgeon, as well as attending to hair. The barber needed to attract customers, and to allow customers to entertain themselves. Barbers therefore provided musical instruments for customers to use, originally a cittern, but later, a guitar (Ref 1(e)). They could also hope that the efforts of a player would be sufficient to avoid putting off one potential customer while dealing with the teeth of another.
To attract customers and to fill in time between customers, the barber too would display what musical talent he had on his instrument. Despite an apparently low average performance standard, some barbers gained a considerable reputation on their instrument.
With the influence of the barber as a source of music, together with pubs and Church congregational singing, some community musical groups developed for mutual pleasure. However, choirs singing several parts in the community would still have been very rare because of the cost of music.
In Europe, the barber put aside his music in the 18th century, when a fashion for wigs gave him more profitable things to do with his time. The profit evidently outweighed any loss of business due to the lack of music. This removed a focal point for music from the community. In contrast, the fashion for wigs did not catch on in North America, and American barbers were known for their guitar playing until the end of the 19th century, 150 or so years later than Europe.
In England, following the disappearance of the musical barber, secular music fell into a decline for a time. However, a partial replacement among the aristocratic and semi-aristocratic population was the Glee Club (popular 1740-1830, Ref 2(d)). Similar bodies also existed in Germany, where they were called Liedertafel. The word glee, in this instance, is one of the "respectable" anglo-saxon four letter words, whose true meaning has largely been forgotten today because of it's respectability (the original meaning was "music" or "entertainment"). A glee was typically a 4 part unaccompanied song for male voices. It was usually sung by solo voices, with a top part normally written for male alto. This has meant glees are rarely heard today because of the rarity of male altos. which is unfortunate, since many glees were of high quality (Ref 1(d)). At times, glees were sung chorally, and rarely, women were given parts.
Modern Glee Choirs may not adhere stringently to the original characteristics of the Glee, in order to continue to present this music to modern audiences. Typically, the original male alto part may be sung by a woman. In some cases, however, a modern "Glee Choir" may have adopted the name without even attempting to sing Glees (and possibly without understanding what a Glee is).
There were essentially no secular choirs in pre-Reformation times, and secular choirs only began to develop with the advent of opera. From the 16th to the 18th century, choirs became gradually more common (particularly in Germany and Italy, Ref 2(b)), and musical works began to take advantage of this resource. The invention of musical forms such as the part song and oratorio required significant bodies of reasonably skilled singers (Ref 1(f)).
In Great Britain, the Christian based oratorios of Handel were responsible for a massive increase in popularity of choral singing during the 18th century. Originally using professional choristers, oratorios began to use amateur singers, and "the Choral Movement" was under way. When the 19th century arrived, there was a further surge of interest in secular music throughout Europe, and choirs formed at an enormous rate. It is unclear if this was preceded by the availability of cheap printed music, or if cheap music was a consequent of this surge, but cheap music certainly helped. In the same period, musicians began to undertake research into the previously little tapped resources of folk music, which provided an additional source of inspiration for vocal music.
The surge of interest in choral singing resulted in many different types of choir being formed, to achieve particular results or to reflect social influences. It also resulted in large amounts of choral music being composed (mostly of questionable quality, Ref 9), and resulted in new choral music forms being developed (eg operetta). These ideas became more refined with the coming of the 20th century.
The surge of interest in choirs together with the wealth and love of display general to the Victorian era, resulted in many experiments. Choirs of over 6000 voices were tried, and found to be of limited value. However some lessons learnt from the extremes of the late medieval polyphonic period were recalled, and there were no choral works in 53 parts!
The choral movement began in Europe, but soon spread world wide. By the middle of the 19th century, there were choirs of all types wherever European traditions were strong. The United States of America gradually became the major source of new choral ideas into the twentieth century, and appears to hold that position today. However there were regional strengths that varied around the world, and no comprehensive picture of choral development appears to have been produced. As a result, comments in this paper regarding the origins of specialist choirs (see below) may only be true in part, or may only relate to particular countries.
Along with the rise in numbers of mixed voice choirs in the early part of the 19th century, there was a major interest in the male voice choir. Many composers produced works for male voice choirs around the end of the 18th and early part of the 19th centuries, particularly in Germany. The reason for the number of male choirs formed was probably two fold:
The male voice choir grew in popularity into the early part of the 20th century, and then faded somewhat. A minor resurgence is occurring at the end of the 20th century in at least some parts of the world. (No central organisation exists to co-ordinate male voice choirs but there are focal points on the Internet including a site called The WWW Male Choir Home Page and The Wellington Male Voice Choir.
More recently popular variations on the male choir have evolved in America (see also reference to North America in The Renaissance and Reformation and Early Music of the Common People above). There, the barber retained his musical reputation (at least as an instrumentalist) until relatively recently (Ref 1(e)) in contrast to Europe (see Music of the Common People, above). As well as this difference in musical tradition between Europe and North America, there were regional differences within North America as well. In the southern USA there developed (in the 19th century) an informal and often improvised style of singing associated with the barbershops. This style was influenced by the hymn singing tradition and the contemporary negro spiritual style of singing, with a touch of the rhythmic influence of what later became jazz.
This southern concept of barbershop singing began to fade in importance in the late 19th century. Then, in the 1938, there was a flush of nostalgia for it, promoted by clever publicity, and an organisation for the preservation of barbershop music was founded (called The Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America or SPEBSQSA, Ref 7). While the Society is focused on quartets, and on the USA, choirs singing this style of music are also common, and growing in popularity worldwide.
In contrast to the informal nature of the original barbershop, modern barbershop singing has been based on a fairly rigid set of rules governing style and performance. This is in response to a desire to maintain a specific tradition (albeit a tradition which was an offshoot of the original barbershop music).
Specialist choirs are formed for a variety of different purposes. For this paper, specialist choirs are acknowledged only if they contribute an audible speciality. Choirs which are named after a speciality but do not concentrate on singing that speciality are not taken into account. This means choirs that specialise on a social basis (such as gay choirs) are not considered a specialised choir. This definition leads to the tabulation of classes of choirs shown below, with more details later in the section.
For this paper, a choir is not intended to be absolutely defined by it's indicated speciality, and some choirs may be classified as specialist in more than one way. That speciality is merely regarded as part of the musical framework within which that choir sings. Moreover it is not possible to assume that the name of a choir accurately reflects its current sound. Many choirs retain names which reflect their original foundation purpose, even although that purpose may have changed. Other choirs may have chosen a name in a mistaken understanding of its meaning, or because the name appealed to the choir, rather than because of its meaning. There is no central organisational basis for choirs generally which may influence such issues, although there is an organisation called The International Federation for Choral Music (or Choralnet) which attempts to co-ordinate choirs.
Specialist choirs can be classified non exclusively based on:
The origins of these different types of choirs come from different historic times. In some cases, choirs were originally of a particular type because there was little choice. The church based male choirs and boys choirs were originally dominant because of restrictions on singing by women. A Cappella choirs originally existed because instruments were not available or were prohibited for religious reasons. In a sense, these restrictions did not presage the origins of those types of choirs, in that the type of singing was not selected for musical reasons. On the other hand, these early forms of music are often the reason for the foundation of the modern choirs of that type.
Choirs based on parent organisations can trace their history back to the earliest records. Originally the parent organisation was a religion. Temple choirs etc appear to have existed as long as organised religious worship. Choirs based on non religious organisations have a more obscure history, and may have a history through early secret societies. They have only risen into public view in the 20th century.
Choirs based on voice type have certainly existed since the 6th century in the church (because of religious restrictions rather than for musical reasons). Earlier choirs of this type evidently existed because of social or religious restrictions on public singing. Male choirs founded because of the particular sound produced by that voice type seem to have an assured history from the Glee clubs of the late 18th century. Earlier single sex (male) choirs often give the impression of working against the bound of convention, and striving to achieve a wider compass than commonly produced by the male voice, rather than having a chosen sound. Early boys choirs also seem to have existed because of social/religious constraints on women singing rather than because of the sound, but they too exist from the first millennium.
Choirs with a particular singing style seem to exist from time to time in the historic record, but no continuing tradition outside the church seems obvious. (Black) gospel Choirs singing Afro-American styles of music existed in the late 19th century, but became common in the 1930s (Ref 8(a)). Similarly a cappella ("in the chapel", or unaccompanied choral music) style music became popular from the 1920's (Ref 8(a)). Other styles seem to have grown from origins in the 20th century.
Specialist choirs of this type are closely associated with choirs based on particular composers, and can often be indistinguishable from them. The earliest group established with the apparent purpose of presenting music of a particular period, was the "Academy of Ancient Music" in London (founded 1710). This group was initially formed to promote essentially anti-modern music, which at the time, meant anti-Handel, but later moved from this purpose. A little later (and mostly in parallel with the Academy) came the "Concerts of Ancient Music" in London (founded 1776), which was essentially a cult for the promotion of Handel's music! Later again came the choirs of the late 18th century which also specialised in the music of Handel. Finally came other choirs nominally specialising in music of a particular composer, but actually specialising in music of the period associated with that composer. Typically these were choirs with names such as the Handel and Hayden Society, specialising in baroque music. This tradition continues today and forms a strong steady thread through the late 19th and 20th centuries. See also "Choirs based on particular composers" below.
The first choirs of this type appear to have been the Handel choirs of the late 18th century in England (in particular the "Concerts of Ancient Music", founded 1776), when Handel had almost a cult following. Since that time, there have always been some choirs specialising in music of a particular composer. Only Handel appears to generate a large following in this fashion, and his popularity waxes and wanes with time. Many choirs which apparently specialise in a particular composer, actually use the composer's name as a symbol for music of a particular period, or may not even be concerned about any significance of their name. See also "Choirs specialising in music of a particular period" above.
Size as a speciality for musical effect does not seem to have been a factor in the choral tradition until the mid 20th century. Prior to that, choir size was determined more by resources available than by a desire to produce music of a character determined by size. The Victorian era was a period when large choirs were used, but it is more likely that this reflected social factors rather than musical ones. Today there are choirs such as Chamber Choirs, which deliberately set out to exploit the possibilities of a particular choir size, in tone, clarity, volume and precision.
Outside the European tradition, choirs were normally a mass of unison singers. However some ethnic groups have developed the European tradition along musical lines characteristic of their own music. The most common of these are the Afro-American choirs, which initially began in the late 19th century, but became very popular from the 1930s (Ref 8(a)). Other ethnic choirs also exist, including some which specialise in the unison style of singing common to their old ethnic tradition. Ethnic choirs generally appear to be growing in numbers in the latter part of the 20th century, due to a surge of nationalistic feeling worldwide.
Many specialist choirs have arisen to meet the expanding interests of the second half of the 20th century. This is likely to have resulted from the greater depth and sophistication of modern audiences, taken with the even greater sophistication of available performers. Music researchers too have taken an interest in historic music forms, and attempted to invent new ones. It is only relatively recently (1960's on) that it has become common for musicians to deliberately set out to perform music in the exact manner the original composer would have expected it. Such interpretive attitudes are also present in these modern choirs.
Choirs are still being formed today for many purposes. The basis for many choirs has become social, rather than a particular music style or sound. Typical of these choirs are the choirs of the gay community. Because they are not distinctive in style or sound (ie, they do not sound different from other choirs), such groups are not considered as specialist choirs in this paper.