The earliest ‘choirs’
As this quotation, attributed (possibly erroneously) to the 5th-centruy St Augustine of Hippo, suggests, singing has long been associated with Christian worship. Indeed, singing plays an important role within many religions.
As well as amplifying the sound, Singing together also affords the opportunity to worship ‘as one’. Collective worship has been a significant part of Christian religious observance since New Testament times and, although no record exists of what was sung, we can be fairly confident that singing together has featured within worship ever since the days of the early church.
We do know that, by the sixth century, the music of the Western Church was dominated by plainchant, unaccompanied music with a single melodic line. Over time, plainchant melodies and the liturgy to which they were set became standardised into a form known as Gregorian Chant, named after Pope Gregory I. A legend dating back to the ninth century tells of how the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, dictated the chants into Pope Gregory’s ear. We now know that Gregorian Chant developed a long time after Gregory’s death, but the musical style nevertheless still bears his name.
Listen to an example of Gregorian Chant, sung by Portsmouth Cathedral Choir:
Ever since the early Middle Ages, plainchant has been sung by priests in cathedrals, churches and chapels, and monks and nuns in monasteries and abbeys across much of Western Europe. During the early Middle Ages, all monks, nuns and priests were expected to sing as part of the daily ‘office’, irrespective of musical ability; there was no separate choir employed.
As larger ‘cathedral’ churches sprang up across Europe in the Middle Ages we also hear of ‘song schools’ being established for the education of choir boys. Evidence suggests that Paulinus, the first Archbishop of York, founded a ‘song school’ as early as 627. Song schools at Hereford and Winchester can also trace their roots to the late 7th century. It is likely that boys attending these schools would have been prepared for the priesthood and, as such, would have been taught to read and understand Latin, as well as how to sing plainchant.
The birth of the choir
The music for these specialist singers was known as ‘polyphony’, multi-part music with largely rhythmically independent vocal lines. Early polyphony, such as that developed by the ‘Notre-Dame School’ in 12th-century Paris may have been sung ‘one to a part’. As the practice of singing polyphony developed and expanded, however, so did the numbers of musicians to perform it.
Polyphonic music during the Middle Ages and Renaissance typically involved anything from three to eight independent parts, sometimes more (there is a small body of music, including Thomas Tallis’s ‘Spem in Alium’, for as many as 40 independent voices). Numbers of singers varied depending on the size and resources of cathedrals. In the late fifteenth century, the Sistine Chapel, for example, employed 24 musicians but less wealthy cathedrals were likely to have managed with fewer. As is the case today, it is likely that the top part, made up of boys’ unchanged voices, would make use of a larger number of singers than the lower parts, usually sung by men.
Listen to an example of polyphonic music by one of the Renaissance masters of the genre, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina:
The names still given to choral singers provide clues as to how their roles developed. The adult members of a cathedral choir, who sing the alto, tenor and bass parts are known as ‘lay clerks’ (i.e. a non-ordained minister) or ‘vicars choral’ (where the ‘vicar’ is derived from the word ‘vicarious’ – with the trained musicians performing in place of the cathedral’s canons). Children who usually sing the soprano or treble lines are known as ‘choristers’.
Choir stalls
Many of the daily services would have been (and still are) sung in the part of the cathedral known as the ‘Quire’. This is situated towards the east end of the cathedral, between the Nave and the High Altar. Quires are often partially enclosed, with a screen separating them from the Nave and ornately carved wooden panelling shielding the side aisles.
The choir sings from what are known as ‘stalls’. These are rows of wooden benches, two on each side of the Quire, facing each other. Each row has a shelf, or desk, to hold the music. The front row on each side is usually occupied by the choristers and the back row by the adult altos, tenors and basses. The two sides are known as ‘Cantoris’ (the singers who sit on the same side of the Quire – the north – as the Cantor or Precentor) and ‘Decani’ (the singers who sit on the Dean’s side of the Quire – the south). A large amount of choral music exploits the division of the choir into two equal groups. When singing psalms, for example, the sides will often chant alternate verses. Music often calls for ‘double choir’ – separate lines for the four voice parts on each side.
Choirs and the Reformation
Although Henry VIII’s subsequent Dissolution of the Monasteries left many musicians working in monastic institutions unemployed, the style of worship in England did not materially change until his more Protestant-minded son, Edward, became king. Thereafter, (despite a brief reprieve during the reign of Mary I) the role of the choir diminished somewhat in favour of congregational singing, and it is likely that the finest choral music became the preserve of the Chapel Royal. Elizabeth I was a lover of good music and attracted the most talented singers and composers to her court. The Chapel Royal was afforded greater leniency in its repertoire and some of the finest sixteenth-century music still sung by cathedral choirs today was written for her private worship.
During the interregnum after the English Civil War, even more restrictions were placed on the use of music during worship and cathedral choirs were all but silenced.
In mainland Europe, however, choirs continued to flourish, both within the Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions. Choral music was performed in cathedrals and also within the private chapels of princes, dukes and heads of state. The musical tradition at St Mark’s Basilica in Vencie, for example, was highly respected and attracted some of the most accomplished musicians. The same can be said of St Peter’s in Rome.
Within the Protestant Lutheran Church, music took a new direction but nevertheless provided many opportunities for choral singing, particularly at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, where composers such as J. S. Bach composed a vast repertoire of music for the choir.
After the Restoration of the Monarchy in England, cathedral choirs were once again established and their repertoire gradually began to grow. In the mid-eighteenth century two composers, Maurice Greene and William Boyce, published the compilation, Cathedral Music, which provides a snap-shot of the kind of music cathedral choirs were singing at this time. It drew on composers of the past (particularly Elizabethans such as Tallis and Byrd) as well as more recent figures such as Henry Purcell. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a resurgence of interest in ceremony and liturgy within the Church of England and a greater emphasis on the musical education of children and young people caused cathedral choirs to go from strength to strength. In the UK today, Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals boast accomplished choirs, and it is possible to hear services sung daily across the country.
Conversely, choral traditions in cathedrals in much of Europe have not remained as strong. There are some centres of excellence, such as the Regensburger Dom Spatzen, the Thomanerchor in Leipzig and the Escolania de Montserrat near Barcelona but fewer cathedrals in mainland Europe maintain a professional choir.
The roles of women and girls
Until the latter part of the twentieth century, most cathedral choirs were made up exclusively of men and boys. Sacred choral music was, however, also performed by women in convents (most notably, the convents of Hildegard of Bingen) and, famously, Vivaldi’s choir at the Ospedali della Pietà in Venice boasted an all-female line up, including the tenors and basses.
Today, nearly all cathedral choirs in the UK welcome women and girls. Female lay clerks sing the alto lines and girl trebles and sopranos also sing, either alongside boy choristers or in a separate all-female ‘front row’.
Where to hear a cathedral choir
The most commonly sung Anglican service is Choral Evensong. This is sung on most days in most cathedrals, usually around 5:30pm (often earlier on Sundays). It is advisable to check dates and times on a cathedral’s website before attending.
Choral Eucharist is celebrated in most Anglican cathedrals each Sunday morning, as well as on important feast days. Choirs will sing for Mass at many Catholic cathedrals on Sundays and, in some cathedrals, also on weekdays.
Some cathedrals also hold a service of Choral Matins on Sunday mornings.
You can also hear cathedral choirs on the radio. BBC Radio 3 broadcasts Choral Evensong from a different place of worship each week, usually on Wednesday afternoon at 3pm, repeated on Sundays. You can find out more from the BBC’s Choral Evensong website.
Cathedral choirs often give concerts, particularly around Christmas and Easter, when they may sing Handel’s Messiah or one of Bach’s Passions. Many choirs also perform on tour, in the UK and overseas.
How to join a cathedral choir
Directors of Music are always keen to hear from the families of children who are interested in singing in a cathedral choir. Read more about the chorister life and how to become a chorister.
Young adults who have good singing voices and are proficient sight-readers can often join back rows as choral scholars. They might combine their role with study at university or college, or take up a scholarship during a gap year. Find out more about choral scholarships.
Lay Clerks, Lay Vicars or Vicars Choral are professional members of a cathedral choir. If you have a trained voice and are a good sight-reader, you may be able to audition either to join a choir as a regular member or to become a ‘deputy’ or ‘dep’, singing for services when regular members are unavailable.