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273:) forward, typically to the front of the chancel, and often used lay choirs who were placed in a gallery at the west end. The choir and rear of deep chancels became little used in churches surviving from the Middle Ages, and new churches very often omitted one. With the emphasis on sermons, and their audibility, some churches simply converted their chancels to seat part of the congregation. In 19th-century England one of the battles of the
299:
242:. The chancel was regarded as the clergy's part of the church, and any choirboys from a choir school counted as part of the clergy for this purpose. After the Reformation, when the number of clergy present even in large churches and cathedrals tended to reduce, and lay singing choirs became more frequent, there were often objections to placing them in the traditional choir stalls in the chancel. The
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333:(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.
38:
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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
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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. In modern churches, the choir may be located centrally behind the altar, or
105:, seating aligned with the side of the church, so at right-angles to the seating for the congregation in the nave. Smaller medieval churches may not have a choir in the architectural sense at all, and they are often lacking in churches built by all denominations after the
289:
objected to allowing a large group of laity into the chancel. 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.
285:, was to restore the chancel, including the choir, as a necessary part of a church. By pushing the altar back to its medieval position and having the choir used by a lay choir, they were largely successful in this, although the harder end of the
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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.
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are also usually found at the front of the choir, though both
Catholic and Protestant churches have sometimes moved the pulpit to the nave for better audibility. The
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164:, the sanctuary was connected directly to the nave. The choir was simply the east part of the nave, and was fenced off by a screen or low railing, called
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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
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entrance. In both cases the liturgical space allotted to the congregation tends to be similar: a long, rectangular nave.
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running in front of it for the choir members to place their books on, and which may also be fitted with kneelers.
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314:) or individual choir stalls. There may be several rows of seating running parallel to the walls of the church.
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310:, where the clergy sit, stand or kneel during services. The choir may be furnished either with long benches (
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write that the term is derived from the "corona", the circle of clergy or singers who surrounded the altar.
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The architectural details of the choir developed in response to its function as the place where the
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in the choir of a church, in which there may be a small altar standing back to back with the other.
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641:
Architecture in
Communion: Implementing the Second Vatican Council Through Liturgy and Architecture
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203:, the elevated platform in the centre of the nave on which were placed seats for the clergy and a
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comes from. The development of the architectural feature known as the choir is the result of the
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One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
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The choir area is occupied by sometimes finely carved and decorated wooden seats known as
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After the
Reformation Protestant churches generally moved the altar (now often called the
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215:) and choir moved eastward to their current position. In some churches, such as
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the pulpit. The place where the singers are based is sometimes called the
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The use of choir stalls (as opposed to benches) is more traditional in
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have a retro-choir behind the high altar, opening eastward towards the
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for scripture readings. This arrangement can still be observed at the
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stand and fold down when they sit. Often the hinged seat will have a
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Illustration showing monk's stalls at
Anellau, France, 14th century
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The
Cambridge Movement: The Ecclesiologists and the Gothic Revival
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224:
147:
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44:
36:
705:"Ritual Choir from the McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia"
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may be located here, or in a loft elsewhere in the church. Some
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53:, with the nave seen through the chancel screen, so looking west
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677:
Christian
Worship in North America: A Retrospective, 1955–1995
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311:
41:
The placement of the choir within a large Latin cross church
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development brought about by the end of persecutions under
748:. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
804:, 93–97, 1962 (2004 reprint), Wipf and Stock Publishers,
869:. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 260–261.
790:. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 260–261.
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was composed of religious, it was usually within the
199:
When first introduced, the choir was attached to the
527:
Church of the Good
Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania)
184:. The word "choir" is first used by members of the
837:. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
156:in northern Spain, an example of a monastic quire
709:McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia Online
234:was chanted by the monastic brotherhood or the
486:with still-visible traces of medieval paint,
8:
101:. In larger medieval churches it contained
679:. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 243.
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385:. A seat has been lifted to reveal the
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351:In a cathedral, the bishop's throne or
7:
113:revived them as a distinct feature.
675:White, James F. (1 December 2007).
401:Elaborately carved choir stalls at
81:. It is in the western part of the
655:In monasteries, when the choir of
357:is usually located in this space.
168:, which is where the English word
25:
540:17th-century choir stalls of the
336:Choir benches are more common in
211:in Rome. Over time, the bema (or
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831:. In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
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643:. Ignatius Press. p. 137.
439:(lecterns) for liturgical books
219:, the choir is arranged in the
508:Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari
73:that provides seating for the
1:
874:Poole, Thomas Henry (1908). "
759:Poole, Thomas Henry (1908). "
639:Schloeder, Steven J. (1998).
340:. Each bench may have padded
27:Area of a church or cathedral
266:) in the eastern extremity.
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825:Gietmann, Gerhard (1912).
461:Basilica of Saint Maternus
435:(area for the choir) with
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275:Cambridge Camden Society
209:San Clemente al Laterano
61:, also sometimes called
866:Encyclopædia Britannica
787:Encyclopædia Britannica
745:Encyclopædia Britannica
589:Cathedral architecture
303:
157:
136:is a space behind the
107:Protestant Reformation
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32:Choir (disambiguation)
891:Choir and Retro-Choir
881:Catholic Encyclopedia
855:Texts on Wikisource:
834:Catholic Encyclopedia
766:Catholic Encyclopedia
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217:Westminster Cathedral
178:Constantine the Great
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48:
40:
525:Choir stalls at the
482:Choir bench made of
403:Buxheim Charterhouse
127:constructional choir
121:, as opposed to the
30:For other uses, see
910:Church architecture
895:Southwark Cathedral
594:Cathedral floorplan
581:Christianity portal
567:Architecture portal
323:collegiate churches
123:architectural choir
93:, which houses the
65:, is the area of a
455:forming part of a
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190:Isidore of Seville
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154:Palencia Cathedral
132:The back-choir or
55:
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812:, 9781592449378,
800:White, James F.,
283:Church of England
194:Honorius of Autun
99:Church tabernacle
51:Bristol Cathedral
16:(Redirected from
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488:Burs Church
411:Ignaz Waibl
319:monasteries
287:High Church
223:behind the
182:monasticism
810:1592449379
740:Back-Choir
615:References
387:misericord
331:misericord
256:cathedrals
213:presbytery
174:liturgical
138:high altar
134:retroquire
876:Choir (1)
761:Choir (1)
629:, "Choir"
609:Matroneum
484:limestone
453:wet nurse
431:) on the
346:prie-dieu
327:monastics
264:chantries
91:sanctuary
71:cathedral
904:Category
661:cancelli
599:Kathisma
553:See also
544:, France
494:, Sweden
465:Walcourt
437:analogia
429:kathisma
354:cathedra
342:kneelers
166:cancelli
89:and the
733::
492:Gotland
469:Belgium
459:in the
407:Bavaria
294:Seating
281:in the
260:chapels
248:lectern
236:chapter
205:lectern
170:chancel
160:In the
144:History
83:chancel
808:
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683:
647:
604:Kliros
512:Venice
433:kliros
244:pulpit
240:canons
75:clergy
67:church
861:Choir
782:Choir
409:, by
252:organ
225:altar
95:altar
63:quire
59:choir
806:ISBN
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312:pews
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