chorale

1. A Protestant hymn melody.
2. A harmonized hymn, especially one for organ.
3. A chorus or choir.

[German, short for Choralgesang, choral song, translation of Medieval Latin cantus chorālis. See choral.]

For more information on chorale, visit Britannica.com.

The congregational hymn of the Lutheran church. The texts and music of many early chorales were adapted from pre-Reformation hymns, antiphons etc, and from secular songs. Publications of numerous hymnbooks during and after Luther's lifetime helped to establish the chorale as a central item in the service and also stimulated the composition of new chorales. After 1600 melodies were written by J. Crüger and others, but chorale composition centred more on writing new texts to four-part versions of existing melodies in ‘cantional’ style, i.e. with the melody in the top part, simple supporting lines in the others and a regular harmonic tread. This style, initiated by the Calvinist theologian Osiander, reached its highest point of development in the chorale harmonizations of J.S. Bach. Chorales were much used as the melodic basis for other compositions. The chorale concerto is a sacred vocal piece based on a chorale; composers include Praetorius, Schein and Scheidt. There are large-scale examples of the period c 1600-1620 with two or more vocal and instrumental choirs.

The chorale cantata is a cantata which is a setting of a chorale text (or partly a paraphrase of one, as in many of the cantatas of Bach's second cycle 1724-5), generally using the chorale melody in various ways. An earlier type was the chorale motet, a vocal work often with instrumental doubling, where the chorale served as a cantus firmus in the 16th century and later served as a basis for fugal imitation.

Forms for organ include the chorale prelude, a short setting for organ of a chorale strophe, intended as an introduction for congregational singing. It was developed by 17th-century north German composers, notably Buxtehude, and is seen at its finest in Bach's Orgelbüchlein; later examples include those of Brahms and Reger. The term is often loosely applied to any organ piece, except variations, based on a chorale melody.

The chorale fantasia is a more extended organ piece based on a chorale (the term has also been used for the elaborate opening choruses in Bach's chorale cantatas); the chorale fugue is an organ fugue based on a chorale melody; the chorale partita or chorale variations is a set of variations on a chorale melody.

A German Lutheran hymn tune.

Tutor's tip: A "chorale" is a hymn or psalm that is sung, while something that is "choral" is something that pertains to music for a choir. "Coral" is a reef formed of marine skeletons, while a "corral" is an animal holding pen.

This article is about the musical composition. For a singing group (sometimes called chorale), see choir.

This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. The following WikiProjects or Portals may be able to help recruit one: • WikiProject Classical music· Classical music Portal • WikiProject Christian music· Christian music Portal • WikiProject History· History Portal • WikiProject European history If another appropriate WikiProject or portal exists, please adjust this template accordingly.(August 2009)

A chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In casual modern usage, this term also includes classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character.

Chorales tend to have simple and singable tunes, because they were originally intended to be sung by the congregation rather than a professional choir. They generally have rhyming words and are in a strophic form (with the same melody being used for different verses). Within a verse, most chorales follow the AAB pattern of melody that is known as the German Bar form.

Martin Luther argued that worship should be conducted in German rather than Latin. He thus saw an immediate need for a huge repertory of new chorales. He composed some chorale melodies himself, such as A Mighty Fortress. For other chorales he used Gregorian Chant melodies used in Catholic worship and fitted them with a new German text. A famous example is Christ lag in Todesbanden, which is based on the tune of the Catholic Easter Sequence Victimae Paschali Laudes.

Chorales were at first monophonic tunes (melody only). However, as early as 1524, Johann Walter published a book of these chorales arranged for four or five voice parts.

Today, many of the Lutheran chorales are familiar as hymns still used in Protestant churches, sung in four-voice harmony. Often the harmonizations are taken from the final sections of cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach. The melodies of the chorales were only in a few instances composed by Johann Sebastian (JS)Bach; the large majority of melodies were based on chorales that were already familiar to his congregation.

Chorale tunes also appear in chorale preludes, pieces generally for organ designed to be played immediately before the chorale in worship. A chorale prelude includes the melody of the chorale, and adds other contrapuntal lines. One of the first composers to write chorale preludes was Samuel Scheidt. Bach's many chorale preludes are the best-known examples of the form. Later composers of the chorale prelude include Johannes Brahms and Max Reger.

Derived from his understanding of musical settings of liturgy and Johann Sebastian Bach's chorale preludes, the symphonies, masses and motets of Anton Bruckner make frequent use of the chorale as a compositional device, often in contrast to and combination with the fugue.

Chorales have been the subject of many different musical treatments, most but not all from the German Baroque. See chorale setting for a description and a list of all the different types of musical setting and transformation that this important liturgical form has undergone.

References and further reading

• "Chorale", in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. ISBN 1-56159-174-2
• The New Harvard Dictionary of Music, ed. Don Randel. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1986. ISBN 0-674-61525-5

St. Anthony Chorale

See also

• Hymn tune

External links

Look up chorale in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Chorale at the Classical Music Pages
• Chorale discussion by Bernard Greenberg in the J. S. Bach FAQ (archived copy)
• Complete sets of all four-part Bach chorale settings in MIDI or QuickTime format
• American Choral Music, 1870-1923, LoC
• ChoraleGUIDE - help with Bach chorale harmonisation

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - koral, salmemelodi

Nederlands (Dutch)
koor, koraal

Français (French)
n. - chorale, (US) ch¯ur

Deutsch (German)
n. - Chor, Choral

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (μουσ.) (θρησκευτικό) χορικό, κοράλ

Italiano (Italian)
coro, corale

Português (Portuguese)
n. - coral (m) (Mús.)

Русский (Russian)
хорал, хор

Español (Spanish)
n. - coro

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - koral

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
赞美诗

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 讚美詩

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 합창곡, 합창단

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 聖歌, 合唱曲, 合唱隊

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ترنيمه دينيه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שיר מקהלתי, כורל, מזמור כנסיה פשוט והרמוני‬

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