A choir is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which spans from the medieval era to the present, or popular music repertoire. Most choirs are led by a conductor, who leads the performances with arm, hand, and facial gestures.
Henryk Mikołaj Górecki was a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. According to critic Alex Ross, no recent classical composer has had as much commercial success as Górecki. He became a leading figure of the Polish avant-garde during the post-Stalin cultural thaw. His Anton Webern-influenced serialist works of the 1950s and 1960s were characterized by adherence to dissonant modernism and influenced by Luigi Nono, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Krzysztof Penderecki and Kazimierz Serocki. He continued in this direction throughout the 1960s, but by the mid-1970s had changed to a less complex sacred minimalist sound, exemplified by the transitional Symphony No. 2 and the Symphony No. 3. This later style developed through several other distinct phases, from such works as his 1979 Beatus Vir, to the 1981 choral hymn Miserere, the 1993 Kleines Requiem für eine Polka and his requiem Good Night.
The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. In the United Kingdom, their popularity peaked in the 1970s and early 1980s. Thereafter they began to reach a wider American audience, appearing frequently on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in the United States. In 1987, they were prominently featured as guests on the Emmy Award winning ABC-TV special Julie Andrews: The Sound of Christmas.
Anúna is a choral ensemble based in Ireland. The group was founded in 1987 by Irish composer Michael McGlynn under the name An Uaithne, taking the current name in 1991. The group has recorded 17 albums and achieved a high level of international success, including a significant role in Riverdance from 1994 to 1996. Almost all of their repertoire is composed or arranged by McGlynn.
The Symphony No. 3, Op. 36, also known as the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, is a symphony in three movements composed by Henryk Górecki in Katowice, Poland, between October and December 1976. The work is indicative of the transition between Górecki's earlier dissonant style and his later more tonal style and "represented a stylistic breakthrough: austerely plaintive, emotionally direct and steeped in medieval modes". It was premièred on 4 April 1977, at the Royan International Festival, with Stefania Woytowicz as soprano and Ernest Bour as conductor.
Symphony No. 2, the "Copernican," Op. 31(II Symfonia "Kopernikowska") is a choral symphony composed by Henryk Górecki in 1972 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the birth of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. Composed in a monumental style for solo soprano, baritone, choir and orchestra, it features text from Psalms no. 145, 6 and 135, along with an excerpt from Copernicus' book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium.
Miserere, Op. 44 is a choral work composed in 1981 by Henryk Górecki for large a cappella mixed choir. The text comprises five words: 'Domine Deus Noster', which are repeated for the first ten sections, resolved by a chorus of 'Miserere nobis' in the eleventh and final section. Both lines of text are sung as imploring pleas. A typical performance lasts 35 minutes.
Maria Guinand is an internationally renowned choral conductor.
Holy minimalism, mystic minimalism, spiritual minimalism, or sacred minimalism are terms, sometimes pejorative, used to describe the musical works of a number of late-twentieth-century composers of Western classical music. The compositions are distinguished by a minimalist compositional aesthetic and a distinctly religious or mystical subject focus.
Akustika Chamber Singers is a chamber choir from South Africa, consisting of 36 young adults, and is based in the capital, Pretoria.
"Song for Athene" is a musical composition by British composer John Tavener with lyrics by Mother Thekla, an Orthodox nun, which is intended to be sung a cappella by a four-part choir. It is Tavener's best known work, having been performed by the Westminster Abbey Choir conducted by Martin Neary at the funeral service of Diana, Princess of Wales, on 6 September 1997 as her cortège departed from Westminster Abbey.
The Holst Singers are an amateur choir based in London, England. The choir is named indirectly after the English composer Gustav Holst, taking its name from the Holst Room at St Paul's Girls' School, the venue for rehearsals during the choir's early years.
The St Monica Choir was founded in 1964 by Sr Beniamina Portelli, and was one of Malta's leading polyphonic choirs. The choir's music repertory deviated from sacred to popular, early to contemporary. It dissolved in 2018, with most of its choristers remaining in the freshly formed St. Monica Vocal Ensemble.
The Ateneo de Manila College Glee Club (ACGC), simply known as the Ateneo Glee Club, is a choir based in the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines. It is distinguished as the oldest university chorale in the Philippines, celebrating its 98th season in 2018. It has held concerts internationally, and has released several albums with songs genres ranging from Classical, Negro spiritual, Sacred choral works, as well as Pop, and OPM. The Glee Club remains active internationally through the performances it stages and choral festivals it participates in.
Jauna muzika is a chamber choir in Vilnius, Lithuania, formed in 1989 The members of the choir are professional musicians - graduates and students of the Lithuanian Academy of Music. Depending on the repertoire being performed, the number of the singers ranges from 24 to 50. Ingrida Alonderė is the current choir director. Since 1992 the choir is led by composer and conductor Vaclovas Augustinas.
Peter Phillips is a British choral conductor and musicologist. He was the founder of The Tallis Scholars in 1973 and of Gimell Records in 1980.
Schola Cantorum of Oxford is the longest running chamber choir of University of Oxford, and one of the longest established and most widely known chamber choirs in the United Kingdom. The conductor is Steven Grahl.
Rolnička Praha is a children's choir based in Prague, Czech Republic. It was founded in 1978 by its director, Karel Virgler. Choral Study Rolnicka has about 200 young singers from 5 to 19 years in 5 choir levels. Rolnicka's Touring Choir has 45 singers aged 10 to 19 years.
The Bearsden Choir is a choir of 140 mixed adult voices based in Bearsden, Scotland. It was formed in 1968 and performs both sacred and secular classical choral works. The singer Jamie MacDougall is its Honorary President.
Kamēr... is a Latvian mixed youth choir based in Riga, Latvia, founded in 1990 by Māris Sirmais. A winner of multiple national and international prizes and awards, including the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing in 2004, 2013 and 2019, the choir performs in various events both in Latvia and worldwide, and collaborates with renowned musicians and orchestras.
