Dictionary of Music - Birding America

chorale Mass 73instrument. In some modern organs there may beboth a positive organ and a choir organ, the formerincorporated in the main case and the latter in a separatecase of its own, as in earlier times.C-hole A SOUND HOLE in the shape of a C.Chopin (shô paN′), Frédéric (frā dā rēk′),1810–1849. A Polish composer and pianist,remembered both for his romantic life and for hishighly individual compositions for piano, whichhave had a lasting influence on music for thatinstrument. A child prodigy, Chopin became afamous pianist, performing all over Europe, butmostly in salons rather than concert halls. He nevermarried but had a number of stormy love affairs,including one with a Frenchwoman, the novelistGeorge Sand. His two hundred or so compositionsfor piano include études (studies), nocturnes (shortreflective pieces), two sonatas, two piano concertos,ballades, preludes, and dances (especiallymazurkas, waltzes, and polonaises). Although hisrhythms often are those of Polish folk music,Chopin never actually used folk tunes. His music isparticularly notable for unusual harmonies andsweet, songlike melodies (most of which cannotactually be sung because they include wide intervalsand have ranges exceeding that of the humanvoice).choral 1 (kôr′əl). Pertaining to music sung by achorus. Beethoven’s Symphony no. 9 is often calledhis Choral Symphony because a chorus is used in thelast movement. 2 Choral (kə räl′). German name forthe Lutheran CHORALE.chorale (kə ral′, kə räl′). A kind of hymn thatwas first sung in the Protestant (Lutheran) churchesof Germany early in the sixteenth century, replacingthe Gregorian chant of the Roman Catholic services.In keeping with the Protestant idea that the peopleshould understand and take part in church services,chorales were sung not by the choir but by the congregation,and their text was in German, not Latin.The music of some chorales was adapted from Latinhymns, others were based on German hymns or evensecular (nonreligious) songs, and still others wereoriginal compositions expressly written for thechurch. Martin Luther, founder of the denominationbearing his name, wrote numerous chorales, and oneof them, Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott (“A MightyFortress Is Our God”), is still frequently sung inProtestant churches. Here is the beginning of thischorale as harmonized by Bach in the eighteenthcentury.The form of the chorale that is best known todaydates from the time of Bach (1685–1750). Unlikethe earlier chorales, it usually has a four-part harmonyand a steady, even rhythm, marked by sustained(long-held) notes at the end of phrases.Though Bach wrote the original music for onlythirty or so chorales, he created harmonies for aboutfour hundred others, which he used mainly in hischurch cantatas (see CANTATA) and also as the basisfor his chorale preludes for organ (see CHORALEPRELUDE).chorale cantata A CANTATA in which two ormore of the movements are based on the text and/ormelody of a CHORALE.chorale fantasia An organ work in the style of aFANTASIA (def. 3) that is based on a CHORALEmelody.chorale fugue An organ work in which the firstone or two phrases of a CHORALE are used as subjectsof the fugue. See also CHORALE PRELUDE.chorale MassGerman CHORALE.fig. 57 p/u from p. 77A setting of the Mass based on a