choir

choir [O.Fr.] 1. A group of singers; traditionally the chorus organized to sing in a church. Usually, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran choirs are composed of men and boys, but occasionally in these churches and customarily in other Protestant churches men and women form the choir. 2. That division of an organ usually used to accompany the singers, played from the lowest manual on the console. 3. A section of a chorus or orchestra, as the contrasted choirs of polychoral music, or brass choir, woodwind choir. 4. That part of a church reserved for the singers and the officiating clergy in a cathedral or abbey; the same area in a parish church is the chancel: see stall.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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