THE RIGHT PLACE OF THE CHOIR

 INTRODUCTION:

Many Christians are well used to having a choir sing in their church services and today, the singing of a choir has been a fixture of the worship in many churches; this is understandable as choirs feature in the Bible’s own description of divine worship. Their singing complements the spoken word of God that is given by the clergy. The role of the clergy is widely known; what about the role of the church choir; and where can they be positioned in the church to play their role very well? All churches have designated sitting places for their choirs in the temple; but which part of the temple should be the best place for the choir in other to perform their role very effectively? This is the problem that was examined.

Many people have discussed and argue this question either by their own knowledge, or by their professional knowledge as musicians, or by their role in the church. However, this study has combined all possible ways of knowing to suggest the best place the choir should/can be positioned in the temple to perform their role very well. Significantly, the study will not dictate but suggest a suitable place where our church choirs can be positioned to perform their role very well. This information will be very useful to our churches. It can also influence the architecture of yet-to-be built churches or temples.

THE CHOIR AND ITS ORIGIN:

In the quest to find a solution to the problem, study found out that a choir is a company of musicians, who perform together in the divine services of a church. The origin of the choir is traced to the Bible other that Roman Catholicism and Christian. The first choir mentioned in the Bible is the one organized by the Levites for the Temple service – this is in 1 Chronicles 9:33. I also found out that the choir is a ministry as well. To “minister” is more accurately to attend to the wants and needs of others. Thus, a minister would be one who is authorized to attend to the wants and needs of those in a Christian church. According to 1 Chronicles 6, the role of the Levites (musicians) who were organized for the Temple service was to minister with song. They attended to the wants and needs of those who came to the Tabernacle to worship by use of music. And so, while the clergy ministers by use of word of God, choristers minister by use of music.

THE ROLE AND FUNCTION OF THE CHOIR:

It was very necessary to examine the roles and functions the choir play in the church, in an attempt to solve this problem. Rayburn (2003) writes that “a choir was to offer particularly beautiful singing to the Lord, singing that was beyond the capability of the congregation itself.” According to Chronicles, David chose 4,000 Levites to constitute an orchestra and chorus for performing sacred music to complement the sacrificial cultic rituals. The basic role of the choir is to complement the clergy in the performance of their role. Aside their basic function, the choir plays other important roles in the service; some are easily noticed while others are not. Below are other important roles and functions of the church choir:  the choir leads the congregation in songs; the choir supports good congregational singing; the choir coordinates the congregational singing; the choir provides spiritual encouragement and inspiration to the church family; the choir shares messages to the congregation; lastly, the visual presence of the choir is an encouragement to the congregation, during congregational singing.

THE TEMPLE AND CHOIR ARCHITECTURE:

Mays (1997) writes that "architecture for churches is a matter of the gospel. A church that is interested in proclaiming the gospel must also be interested in architecture” – and for this matter, ‘temple architecture’. In exploring temple architecture, four inner parts of the temple are found to be associated to the choir; these parts are the chancel, choir loft, retro-choir, and the gallery. (1) The chancel (also called Presbytery) is an area of a church near the alter for use of the clergy or choir. It is that space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a church building.

(2) The choir loft (also called Quire or Choir) is a raised area above the sanctuary, or a set of risers behind the sanctuary where the choir sits during services. The part of the church east of the crossing, usually occupied by the priests and singers of the choir. The name ‘choir’ is used because traditionally the clergy of the Cathedral stood here as a chorus, chanting, or singing during the responsive portion of the service. Maynard (n.d.) adds that “this area was originally used for the choir to sing responses to the mass with the congregation. Now, it is used for a choir to sing hymns or Christian songs.”

(3) The Retro-choir (also known as retroquire or backchoir) is the space behind the high altar in a church or cathedral, which sometimes separates it from the end chapel. It contains seats for the church choir.

(4) The Gallery, originally, a form of balcony, often inside the great hall of a castle or manor house, and used to allow musicians to perform, sometimes discreetly hidden from the guests below.

On how galleries found their way into the church, Ross (n.d.) writes that during Cromwell's Commmonwealth, the playing of organs or similar instruments in churches was banned, and many organs were destroyed. When singing and music was reintroduced during the Restoration period under Charles II, there was a shortage of organs, so local musicians joined forces and played during services. Galleries were built for the use of these musicians, often using wood from dismantled rood lofts and screens. Ross adds that when these musicians played, the congregation would turn to face the gallery and sing, for coordination purposes.

Aside exploring temple architecture, I also explored ‘choir architecture’. Choir architecture talks about where and how the choir loft or choir should be in the church. From the Familypedia, I found that architecturally, the choir (Anglican alt. spelling quire) is the area of a church or cathedral that provides seating for the clergy and choir. It is usually in the eastern part of the chancel between the nave and the sanctuary (The nave is space for the congregation). The choir area is occupied by finely carved and decorated wooden seats known as choir stalls, where the clergy (now choristers) sit, stand or kneel during services. The choir may be furnished either with long benches (pews) or individual choir stalls. There may be several rows of seating running parallel to the walls of the church.  

 KEY FINDINGS: Secondary Data

Data was collected from primary and secondary sources. The primary data was data collected from the field while the secondary data was data collected from published works. I will like to present a summary on the secondary data first. Data collected from the Catholic Liturgical Library gave four factors with respect to the positioning of the choir. Firstly, the choir is supposed to be part of the worshiping community and be able to perform its role in the liturgical service. Secondly, the choir must be positioned such that its participation in the liturgy is well facilitated. It continues to say that the choir loft is the best part of the church where the choir should sit. This choir loft should be elevated give the choir a clear view of the liturgy. Sound is also carried much better from the loft than some other portion of the church. Thirdly, the choir’s position should be able to allow choristers participate fully in the service. Lastly, the document states that the sanctuary is reserved for the ministers. Mays (1997) explains further the last factor from the Catholic Liturgical Library; saying that “the Roman view says that the altar is "Christ's throne on earth", and is therefore the pre-eminent architectural feature in Roman Catholic architecture.” For this matter, the sanctuary must be reserved for the priests.

Again, data was collected from Choralnet, which is the website headline of the American Choral Directors Association. “Should churches who use old barely functioning church organs and choirs all singing in a choir loft in the back of the church be considered an outdated mode of worship?”; this was a question asked on that platform on July 29, 2015. This question received answers from two groups of people; one group says that the church choir is to support the church in congregational singing and so, they must sing from the back of the church – thus the rear gallery.

The second group say that the choir is not just to provide a pleasant background music; they are supposed to play a leadership role.

They argue that if the priest were to deliver a sermon from behind everyone, and you could not always hear or see this person, their message would be weakened and so why should the minister of songs minister from behind the church?

  They add that the choir, if positioned in front or around the front space of the church, will be able to communicate much with the congregation, as well as produce a positive feedback with respect to sound production. Lastly, they suggest that if the is no space in the front space of the church for the choir, the choir should be positioned within the congregation so that the congregation can coordinate well with them during congregational singing, but not to be excluded in the gallery.

Another data gathered from the Church Music Association of America informs that the ideal place for the cantor (and, to lesser degree, other singers) of course, would be near the sanctuary in order to have a better sound coordination with the singing of the sacred ministers. The data also informs that there is a possible higher level of indiscipline in the choir loft when it is at the back of the church, thus the gallery. However, it is also suggested that the role of the choir should influence its placement in the church.

Referring to the Bible too for an answer, 2 Chronicles 5:12 states that “all the Levites who were musicians – Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives – stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets.” (NIV) This could suggest that the choir raised by King David performed their duties from the right side of the alter.

KEY FINDINGS: Primary Data

For the primary or field data, a questionnaire was prepared and sent to people who have (regular) contacts with church choirs to basically access the effectiveness of their church choirs or any church choir they know, with respect to the seating positions of the choir. There was a total of 60 respondents, of which 8 of them were church members, 6 were organists, 18 were choristers, 8 were choir presidents, and 20 were either choir masters, choir directors, or music directors. 18, out of the 60 respondents, had had contact with their choirs between 1 to 4 years, 6 had had contact with their choirs between 5 to 8 years, while the remaining 36 respondents had also had contact with their choirs for 9 years and above. The 60 respondents provided data on 60 church choirs, of which 43 were Methodist church choirs, and 10 were Presbyterian choirs. There were 2 choirs each of the Catholic and the Evangelical Presbyterian churches; while the Apostles’ Revelation Society, Light House Chapel and Little Ways church had 1 choir each. In the study, I found that generally the choirs are either positioned at back of the church or in front area/space of the church. At the back of the church, I mean in the rear gallery; and in front of the church, I mean either in the sanctuary, on the sides of the sanctuary, and immediately above the sanctuary. Out of the 60 respondents, 18 of them say their choirs sit at the rear gallery of the church while 42 respondents say that their choirs sit in front (around the sanctuary) of the church.

The respondents were asked six questions on which they were to grade their choirs.  The questions were about (1) how effective the communicates with the congregation, especially when singing alone; (2) how effective the choir coordinates with the congregation during congregational singing; (3) how effective the choir could be heard without amplifiers; (4) how effective the choir participates in the divine service; (5) how effective the choir responds to the clergy, during sermons; (6) and how effective the choir is discipline in the choir loft. The scores, as received from the respondents, is summed in the table below, in percentage. ‘Group A’ represents choirs that have been positioned at the back of the church – in the rear gallery – and ‘Group B’ represents choirs that are positioned in the front space of the church – in and around the sanctuary, as well as the retro/back-choirs.

From the table, while the Group B choirs provided a constant positive result in all six questions, that of Group A varies. 

 

According to the data, Group A choirs perform effectively 45% as against a negative performance of 16%. However, there is an average performance of 39%.

As compared to the Group A choirs, the data of the Group B choirs suggests that the Group B choirs perform effectively 63% as against a negative performance of 19%. However, there is an average performance of 29%.

THE CONCLUSION:

After this study, it is prudent to draw a conclusion. The Link to Liturgy website states that,

The choir should be so positioned with respect to the arrangement of each church that its nature may be clearly evident, namely as part of the assembled community of the faithful undertaking a specific function. The positioning should also help the choir to exercise ‘its’ function more easily and allow each choir member full sacramental participation in the Mass (service)…

John F. Warren, an Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Syracuse University, also says that, “acoustically positioning choir members (and the choir entirely) fosters a better tone…” (Warren, 2016) Analyzing the primary data from the field work and the secondary data from the published works, with respect to the roles and functions of the church choir, as well as information gathered on temple and choir architecture, a choir positioned in the front space of the church will be more effective than one that is positioned at the back of the church, in the rear gallery. By the use of ‘the front space’ of the church, I mean areas around the sanctuary; thus, on either side of the altar, and behind the altar – a retro choir. However, if a temple or church lacks much space to place the choir in the front space of the church, the choir can be positioned in either side of the gallery immediate to the sanctuary/altar (not the rear/back gallery) or as Seaton suggests, the choir should be positioned in the congregation (not far from the front of the church).

THE RECOMMENDATION:

Churches who have their choirs positioned in the rear gallery, must consider (if there is space) to relocate their choirs closer to the front space of the church. The choir leads in congregational singing; the conductor directs the choir, as well as the whole congregation in congregational singing; therefore, both the choir and the conductor must be visible.

A choir, in the front space of the church, should not just be at the floor level; they must be on an elevated platform – the risers. This will help provide a good sound, even without amplifiers. Again, in the choir loft, considering choir architecture, each member can have access to the conductor during singing.

Churches that are yet to build their temples, either in a medieval architecture or in a modern architecture, should greatly consider the ‘temple architecture’. This will help them know the various inner part of a temple and design the church accordingly, putting the church choir into a no difficult situation, in the performance of their role in the church.

If churches are designed with temple architecture, choir architecture and acoustics in mind, a choir loft is the ideal location for the choir. In many churches, the choir has abandoned the loft to its own detriment. Once the choir is on the floor or in an acoustically unfriendly church or in a place in the church not originally or architecturally intended for the choir, they are forced to use microphones to avoid being lost. The use of microphones frequently has the effect of drowning out the congregation which already has a difficult enough time being coaxed into singing.

NB: This Article is an extract of a 68-page research conductor by the writer.

Kingsley J.E.K. Acheampong

B. Mus (Hons), UCC