Distribution of choral parts in a small mixed choir. TopicViii: Types and types of choirs. Arrangement of the choir group. Artistic Director and Chief Regent

Such a choir can perform only those works in which no divisions(divisi) in batches. Choirs with a minimum number of singers used to be quite widespread. They fully satisfied the practice of conducting church services, and later took part in concert performances in noble salons.

Currently, the minimum composition of a choir is considered to be 16-20 people.

Smaller teams are usually called ensembles .

The same standards are usually followed in the practice of homogeneous choirs.

· Average choir composition

suggests the possibility dividing each batch into at least two . Therefore, he must have at least 24 people.

Typically these choirs have between 30 and 60 members.

Performing Opportunities! the middle choir are very significant. The insufficiency of the number of members of the average choir is revealed when performing large works with a large orchestra, as well as polyphonic and polychoric works. In all other cases, this choir can successfully cope with the performing repertoire. It is known that the Leipzig choir, in which Bach worked and in which most of his works were first performed, had a composition of 20-25 people. The famous Sistine Chapel consisted of 15 - 20 adult singers. A good example of the capabilities of an average choir staffed with highly qualified singers is the O. Shaw chamber choir. This group, consisting of 31 singers of a small chamber orchestra, has an extremely wide performing range. His repertoire includes Negro spirituals, various works for a cappella choir, and such major works as Bach's Mass in B Minor. The choir successfully performs at both small and large concert venues.

A serious mistake is made by those leaders who, in pursuit of numbers, lose the quality criterion when accepting singers into the choir. The presence of singers in the choir who do not have sufficient data slows down the growth of the group, reduces creative interest, and undermines organizational foundations.

· Big choir must have such a composition that would ensure the performance of any choral work. In such choirs it is usually from 80 to 120 people.

Here are data on the size of some choirs:

State Academic Russian Choir of the USSR - 100.

Great Choir of the All-Union Radio - 95.

Leningrad Academic Chapel - 90.

Krasnoznamenny named after Alexandrov Song and Dance Ensemble of the Soviet Army - 100.

State Men's Choir of the Estonian SSR - 80.

State Academic Choir of the Latvian SSR - 80.

State Russian Republican Chapel of the RSFSR - 80.

State Honored Academic Chapel of the Ukrainian SSR "Dumka" - 80.

· Maximum choir composition it is generally accepted 120-130 people Further increase in the permanent composition of the choir does not contribute to the improvement of its performing qualities. The choir loses its performing flexibility, mobility, and rhythmic clarity, the ensemble becomes vague, and the timbre of the parts is less interesting.

For speeches at ceremonial meetings, song festivals, and demonstrations, numerous

· combined choirs , uniting dozens of amateur and professional groups . Thus, at traditional song festivals in the Baltic republics, combined choirs consisting of 30 - 40 thousand performers.

For combined choirs, they usually select not very complex, “catchy”, “poster” works. Often these choirs perform rather difficult works of large form. In a number of cities in the Volga region and the Urals, for example, large combined choirs and orchestras performed Sviridov’s Pathetic Oratorio, and a combined male choir, which performed in 1965 at a song festival in Riga, performed the complex polyphonic work of E. Kapp “North Coast”.

There are cases when up to one hundred or more thousand people took part in mass singing. Thus, the author of this book had the opportunity to manage a choir consisting of 130 thousand participants (VI World Youth Festival).

Leading choirs of thousands of people has its own characteristics and difficulties. These difficulties, mainly of an acoustic nature, are associated primarily with the establishment of a rhythmic ensemble

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Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education

"Moscow State Institute of Culture"

Department: Academic choir conducting

Essay

Discipline: “Choral studies and methods of working with the choir”

On the topic: “Choral group. Choir structure. Quantitative and qualitative composition"

Completed by: 3rd year student, group 46

Tarasenko Olga Petrovna

Checked by: professor

Shabalina Olga Ivanovna

Moscow 2015

Introduction

1. Characteristics of the concept of “choral group” and its features

2. Features of the structure of the choral group

3. Quantitative and qualitative composition of the choir

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

Choral singing is one of the most ancient and rich areas of musical art. It obviously existed in primitive communities, as the surviving monuments of that era suggest. Gradually, choral singing not only accompanied labor processes, but also became an important element of folk games, dances, and rituals. Genre varieties of songs with their distinctive features (work, everyday, military, love and other tunes) arose, expressive means were enriched, techniques of alternating solo and choral singing arose, and instruments joined the choir at festivals and during rituals. Early forms of polyphony appeared.

In the system of mass music education, a huge
Various forms of choral art play a role.

Choral studies covers the history, theory and practice of choral performing arts, its place in the spiritual, moral, artistic education of the people, the content of vocal and choral education, the principles of managing artistic groups, specific methodological systems for working with choirs of various types, types, compositions.

In the last few years, interest in choral pedagogy has justifiably increased. Against the backdrop of a saturated choral market, there is a massive formation of choral groups and their equally massive disintegration. A comprehensive study of this phenomenon, conducted at the Academy of Choral Art by G.A. Struve, revealed a number of “bottlenecks” in the functioning of a typical amateur choral group. In particular, it became obvious that one of the main reasons for the self-liquidation of amateur choirs is the low quality of musical, pedagogical and psychological-pedagogical work. That is, factors that have not only educational, but also educational significance.

On the one hand, in a number of amateur groups there is a pronounced lack or insufficiently high quality of educational work designed to increase the vocal, performing and professional (as far as this term is possible in the context of amateur performances) level of the choral group. On the other hand, there is insufficient quality (or even absence) of psychological work aimed at educating team members and creating a special environment for human relations.

The modern repertoire of choral groups covers the largest number of historical eras compared to other types of musical performance.

Purpose This work is a generalization of knowledge about the choir, its structure and composition.

To achieve this goal, a number of solutions were solved in the work tasks:

1. Describe the concept of “choral group”;

2. Reveal the features of the choir structure;

3. Describe the quantitative and qualitative composition of the choir.

1. Characteristics of the concept of “choral group” and its features

A choir is an organized group of singers. This definition covers all kinds of singing groups with a wide variety of qualifications, performing style, repertoire focus, methods of formation and recruitment. In the understanding of the domestic listener, the choir is a creative group, the main goal of whose performing activities is the ideological, artistic and aesthetic education of the masses.

The material for creating any choral group is the human singing voice. Singing voices can be divided into three large groups: male, female, children. These three types of voices will represent the material from which a choir of one composition or another can be organized. Choirs made up of only men, only women or children are called homogeneous choirs, because their composition is truly homogeneous (a choir of only women is female, a choir of only men is male, and a choir of only children is children’s). . The combination of a male choir with a female or children's choir forms a mixed choir.

Thus, the choir unites different groups of voices. The voices of one group performing their melody in unison are called a choral part. Choral parts are composed of singers with approximately the same range of voices and similar timbre sound.

The classic version of a mixed choir is a group of singers with high and low female and male voices. Low male voices are called basses, low female voices are called altos, high male voices are called tenors, and high female voices are called sopranos.

In the children's choir, similarly to the women's choir, voices are divided into high sopranos and low altos. In the boys' choir, high voices are called trebles. In turn, each party is often divided into two votes - the first and the second. In a mixed choir score there is often a combination of sopranos I and sopranos II, altos I and altos II, tenors I and tenors II, baritones and basses.

The musical notation of the melodies of all parts of the choir is called a choral score. There are two main principles for designing a choral score. The first, most common, is that the melody of each voice is written on a separate line of notes. Parts of choral works of a predominantly polyphonic nature are presented in this way, which allows singers to clearly follow the development of each individual theme, each melodic line.

In choral performance, two styles of singing are distinguished - academic and folk, which are characterized by qualitative differences in the manner of performance.

The academic choir bases its activities on the principles and criteria of musical creativity and performance developed by professional musical culture and the traditions of centuries-old experience in the opera and chamber genres. Academic choirs have a single condition for vocal work - an academic style of singing.

Depending on the profile of their activities, academic choral groups are called chapels, song and dance ensembles, opera choirs, educational choirs, etc.

The choir got its name from the place where the singers and choral group were located. In the Middle Ages, a chapel was a Catholic chapel and a chapel in a church where the choir was located. Initially, the chapels were only vocal, without the participation of instruments. Since then, polyphonic choral singing without instrumental accompaniment, in which the main attention was paid to the melodiousness and independence of voices, to the harmony of the overall sound, began to be called singing a sarella. Currently, some professional as well as amateur choral groups are called a cappella (for example, the St. Petersburg Academic Chapel named after M. Glinka, the Republican Russian Choir Chapel named after A. Yurlov...). Boys' choirs are also called chapels (Nizhny Novgorod boys' choir).

A folk choir is a vocal group that performs folk songs with their inherent characteristics (choral texture, vocal style, phonetics). Folk choirs, as a rule, build their work on the basis of local or regional singing traditions. This determines the variety of compositions and manner of performance of folk choirs. It is necessary to distinguish a folk choir in its natural, everyday form from a specially organized folk choir, professional or amateur, performing both truly folk songs and original compositions in the folk spirit.

Performing a piece at a concert is the final goal and result of all the preliminary work of any musician, in which the selection of the repertoire is the starting point of a long creative path.

Selecting a repertoire for a choir is not a one-time act, but a complex process: on the one hand, it focuses on the musical and aesthetic taste and culture of the choral conductor, on the other hand, the selection of works and the choir’s repertoire is of a pedagogical nature, since it is determined by individual characteristics performers and rehearsal conditions.

At the same time, there are traditional criteria in accordance with which the concert repertoire of choral groups is compiled:

1) diversity in historical eras, styles, genres, characters, etc.;

2) compliance with a certain performing direction, for example, the repertoire of an academic choir consists of sacred and secular choral works, Western European and Russian classical composers, arrangements and arrangements of folk songs, modern compositions;

3) the presence of a sufficient number of works a sarrella (without accompaniment), the mastery of which allows the most intensive formation of choral skills.

The achievements of Russian choral art have historically been based on the organic connection between composition and choral performance. The huge choral heritage, accumulated as a result of centuries of singing practice in Russia, is a treasury of choral culture, contributing to its further development.

2. Features of the structure of the choir group

The concept of choir composition is ambiguous; it involves various aspects. When characterizing the composition of the choir necessary to perform a given work, the following are taken into account: its structure, the total number of participants (quantitative composition), certain qualitative characteristics (qualitative composition).

As already noted, a creative choral group may differ in its structure. This could be a folk ensemble, a pop song studio, a boys' choir, and so on. But the most practical and realistically achievable is the creation of an academic choir: its repertoire covers a wide range of vocal genres - from works of classical composers, songs of various nations to works of modern authors. choral score singing ensemble

The structure of the choir is determined, first of all, by its type and appearance. The first indicates which choral parts are included in the choir. On this basis, all choirs are divided into homogeneous (children's, women's or men's) and mixed - consisting of women's or children's (or both together) and men's voices (choral parts).

The type of choir indicates the number of choral parts (“voices”) included in its composition. Based on this, choirs can be one-voice, two-voice, three-voice, four-voice, etc.

Each type corresponds to certain types of choir. Homogeneous choirs have two main parts: upper voices (trebles in the children's choir, soprano in the women's choir, tenors in the men's choir) and lower voices (altos in the children's and women's choirs, basses in the men's choir). Consequently, the elementary form of a homogeneous choir is two-voice: D + A (in a children's choir), C + A (in a women's choir), T + B (in a men's choir).

The mixed choir consists of four main parts: sopranos (or trebles), altos, tenors, basses. Its most characteristic type is four-voice: C (D) + A + T + B.

The increase in votes occurs as a result of the division of parties. Separations can be permanent or temporary. With constant separation, each part essentially becomes an independent choral part: CI + CIII + A (three-voice female choir), TI + TIII + BI + BII (four-voice male choir), CI + SII + AI + AII + TI + TIII + BI + BI (eight-voice mixed choir).

With temporary divisions, parties are divided sporadically. The unstable nature of the divisions creates variability in the choral composition. There are often cases when the full composition of the choir actually never sounds simultaneously in the work, and the establishment of the type of choir (number of voices) becomes largely arbitrary. A choir composition without divisions of parties or with divisions of a permanent nature can be called stable, and the composition with divisions such as divisions can be called unstable.

There are 2 main types of choral groups: homogeneous and mixed. This typology is due to the 3-type classification of singing voices: children's, women's, men's.

A variation of the incomplete mixed type are youth choirs, formed from female (soprano and alto) voices and one unison male part. They received the name youth because most often they are composed of boys and girls aged 15-17 years. Due to the limited singing capabilities associated with the active process of mutation, the young men unite into a single choral part and perform the melody in unison.

3. Quantitative and qualitative composition of the choir

Choral groups are traditionally divided into small (chamber), medium and large choirs. Based on the quantitative composition, the size of each choral party is determined. For optimal sound, achieving a clean structure and a coherent ensemble, according to P. Chesnokov’s definition, the number of singers within the choral part should be three. The presence of three people in a party allows you to use chain (continuous) breathing techniques.

Both homogeneous and mixed choirs can be full or incomplete. The full choir includes all choral parts characteristic of this type of choir. An incomplete choir consists of some parts characteristic of a given choir. An incomplete homogeneous choir (that is, when the entire performance is entrusted to only one choral part) is used relatively rarely, an incomplete mixed choir is used much more often; it is most characterized by a combination of parts closely spaced in the range: C+A+T, A+T+ B.

There are also multi-choir compositions, when several choirs (two, three, four or more) participate in the performance simultaneously. Such compositions are especially common in opera music. In concert practice they are used less frequently and, as a rule, include no more than two or three choirs. If the groups participating in the performance have the same structure and number of participants, then such multi-choir compositions are called, respectively, double, triple, etc.

The quantitative composition of the choir is determined by the total number of members of the group required to perform this work. There are the following main varieties in relation to a full mixed choir: small composition or chamber (16-24 people); average composition (24-60 people); large composition (60-80 or more people).

The quality of the choir needed to perform a given work depends on the nature and structure of the music and its complexity.

The nature of the work places demands on the timbre composition of the choir. Chamber images presuppose the predominant use of lyrical timbres. This composition is typical for much of a cappella choral music. In contrast, we can talk about the “dramatic composition of the choir,” which has a completely different sound - dense and strong. Bearing in mind the complexity of the work, which determines the required level of vocal and choral technique of the group (its professional training), we can conditionally distinguish beginner, experienced, amateur and professional choir composition.

The need for a choral part to have three or more singers is also confirmed by acoustic laws. During the performance of unison melodies, the singing of at least three participants prevents sound splitting; the interval of deviation from absolute unison in the singing of the first and second choristers is filled with the sound of the third voice. This creates the effect of sounding a continuous unison. This law also applies to the timbre of voices.

As P. Chesnokov pointed out, the smallest number of singers in a mixed choir, based on the smallest composition of one choral part, is 12 people (3 sopranos + 3 altos + 3 tenors + 3 basses). Similar norms apply to homogeneous choirs. Choirs with such a minimum composition can only perform those works where there is no division of voices in the parts. These groups are most often used in the practice of religious singing, accompanying church services. Currently, a choral group consisting of 12 to 20 people is usually called a vocal ensemble.

The average composition includes such groups where each choral part can be divided (double in number) into two (BI, BII). The number of members of the choir thus increases to 24 people. At P.G. Chesnokov, the average composition of the mixed choir consisted of 27 people, additionally including 3 more bass - octavist.

Currently, groups with a number of singers from 25 to 30 people are called chamber choirs. The range of performing capabilities of this group is quite extensive, but the most interesting in its performance are the subtle and graceful choral acapella miniatures, in the performance of which the choirs achieve high skill and perfection.

In modern practice, medium-sized choirs are considered to be groups of 30 to 60 people. A medium-sized team is most widespread in amateur performances. The average composition of the choir is widely represented in the form of educational, women's, men's, youth, mixed professional and amateur choirs. These choirs exist in general education and music schools, secondary specialized and higher educational institutions. The performing capabilities of medium-sized choirs are quite significant. Thanks to their mobility, mobility and flexibility of sound, they can perform choral works of varying degrees of complexity. The repertoire of these groups may include examples of foreign and domestic choral literature, arrangements of folk songs, choral works of various genres and stylistic directions.

In modern conditions, large choral groups include groups of 80 to 100 (120) people. Most professional choirs are like this. The large composition of professional choirs is due to the possibility of performing works of large forms, including orchestral accompaniment, as well as complex polyphonic polyphonic acapella choral works of polyphonic presentation.

Further increase in the permanent composition of the choir is inappropriate, since it does not contribute to the improvement of its performing qualities: flexibility, mobility, and rhythmic clarity are lost. The choral ensemble becomes vague and timbrally uninteresting.

However, in choral practice there are cases of the existence of so-called combined choirs, the number of which sometimes reaches several tens of thousands of people. Such groups are organized, as a rule, on special festive occasions. For combined choirs, they usually select works that are not very complex, “catchy” and bright in artistic image, of a solemn, anthemic nature, previously learned by each choir independently.

The successful work of the ensemble is largely ensured by the correct placement of singers during rehearsals and concert performances.

The solution to this issue is confirmed by long-term singing practice. The choir on stage and during rehearsals should be arranged according to choral parts. At the same time, related parts in a mixed choir, as a rule, are combined: high female voices (sopranos) with high male voices (tenors), low female voices (altos) with low male voices (bass). Choirs on stage are most often arranged in a semicircle, providing the best way to concentrate the sound.

Thus, accurate intonation (tuning) and balanced sound (ensemble) in a choir are the main conditions for its professionalism. A well-coordinated choral group is always perceived as a vocal orchestra consisting of human voices, and therefore requires constant and systematic attention from the choirmaster from the moment the choir sings to the concert performance on the stage.

Conclusion

Choir is an extremely capacious concept. It is usually considered as a musical and singing group, whose activity is the creative process of choral music-making (or choral performance). In this context, a choir is a vocal and performing group, united and organized by creative goals and objectives. The principle of collective beginning is mandatory for all choir participants and must be maintained at any stage of the choir’s work.

A choir is a vocal ensemble with a large number of participants, consisting of choral parts. The basic basis of each choral part is unison, which presupposes the complete unity of all vocal-choral components of performance - sound production, intonation, timbre, dynamics, rhythm, diction, in other words, the choir is an ensemble of vocal unisons. Choral performance is expressed in two forms of music making - singing without accompaniment (a cappella) and singing with accompaniment. Depending on the method of intonation - in natural or tempered tuning - the role of intonation increases.

Choral performance organically combines various types of arts - music and literature (poetics). The synthesis of these two types of arts introduces specific features into choral creativity. A logical and meaningful combination of music and words defines the concept of the vocal-choral genre. A good choir is always distinguished by technical and artistic-expressive performance, where, along with the problems of ensemble and structure, the problems of musical and literary interpretation are solved.

None of the properties listed above can exist in isolation. All components are interconnected and in constant harmony.

List of used literature

1. Bogdanova, T.S. Fundamentals of choral studies / T.S. Bogdanov. - M: BSPU, 2009. - 132 p.

2. Kozinskaya, Yu.Yu., Fadeeva M.A. Choral studies and choral arrangement / Yu.Yu. Kozinskaya. M.A. Fadeeva. - Saratov, 2011. - 88 p.

3. Levando, P.P. Choral texture / P.P. Lewando. - L: Music, 1984. - 123 p.

4. Pigrov, K.K. Choir leadership / K.K. Pigrov. - Moscow: Music, 1964. - 220 p.

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Main questions.

I.1) Definition of the choir by prominent masters of choral art.

2) Directions in choral performance.

3) View of the choir.

4) Number of choir members.

II. Types of choir.

III. Arrangement of the choir group.

Target: Determine the importance of the arrangement of the choral group for the most favorable sound of the choral work, in connection with the type and type of choir.

Definition of a choir by prominent masters of choral art

A. A. Egorov (“Theory and practice of working with a choir”): “A choir is a more or less numerous group of singers performing a vocal-choral work. Moreover, each part is sung by several homogeneous voices. In this way, a choral group, as a vocal organization, differs significantly from a chamber vocal ensemble (duet, trio, quartet, etc.), in which each individual part is always assigned to only one performer. The most typical, pure type of choral group is an a cappella choir, i.e. a group singing without instrumental accompaniment. Another type of choral group - a choral group accompanied by a piano, an ensemble of instruments or an orchestra - is no longer completely independent: it shares its performing tasks with instrumental accompaniment.

An a cappella choir is a kind of vocal orchestra that, based on the synthesis of sound and words, conveys the artistic images of a musical work with its rich colors.”

V. G. Sokolov (“Working with a choir”): “A choir is a group that is sufficiently proficient in the technical, artistic and expressive means of choral performance necessary to convey thoughts, feelings, and ideological content that are embedded in the work.”

P. G. Chesnokov (“Chorus and its management”): “The a cappella choir is a full-fledged union of a significant number of human voices, capable of conveying the subtlest bends of mental movements, thoughts and feelings expressed in the composition performed. A choir is a collection of singers whose sonority has a strictly balanced ensemble, a precisely calibrated structure and artistic, clearly developed nuances.”

Note that Chesnokov attributes nuances to elements of choral sonority, interpreting this concept more broadly than a moving dynamic scale. Nuances, according to Chesnokov, cover the means of musical and choral expressiveness - features of rhythm, tempo, agogy, diction, etc., in connection with their dynamic changes.

Choir is an extremely capacious concept. It is usually considered as a musical and singing group, whose activity is the creative process of choral music-making (or choral performance). In this context, a choir is a vocal and performing group, united and organized by creative goals and objectives. The principle of collective beginning is mandatory for all choir participants and must be maintained at any stage of the choir’s work. A choir is a vocal ensemble with a large number of participants, consisting of choral parts. The basic basis of each choral part is unison, which presupposes the complete unity of all vocal-choral components of performance - sound production, intonation, timbre, dynamics, rhythm, diction, in other words, a choir is an ensemble of vocal unisons. Choral performance is expressed in two forms of music making – singing without accompaniment (a cappella) and singing with accompaniment. Depending on the method of intonation - in natural or tempered tuning - the role of intonation increases. Accurate intonation (tuning) and balanced sound (ensemble) in a choir are the main conditions for its professionalism. A well-coordinated choral group is always perceived as a vocal orchestra consisting of human voices, and therefore requires constant and systematic attention from the choirmaster from the moment the choir sings to the concert performance on the stage. The structure in the choir depends on the skill and training of the singers participating in it, as well as on the personal and professional qualities of the conductor-choirmaster, his will, knowledge, and experience. Structure in a choir is always associated with the implementation of many different interrelated tasks - from organizing the singing-choral process and educating (training) singers to integrating the actual choral sonority with identifying problems of ensemble and structure. At the same time, important tasks in the process of building a choir - the creation of an ensemble of vocal unisons, the pitch uniformity of the sounds performed, their timbre unity - are solved provided that the vocal and choral work with the singers is properly organized. Choral performance organically combines various types of arts - music and literature (poetics). The synthesis of these two types of arts introduces specific features into choral creativity. A logical and meaningful combination of music and words defines the concept of the vocal-choral genre. A good choir is always distinguished by technical and artistic-expressive performance, where, along with the problems of ensemble and structure, the problems of musical and literary interpretation are solved.

None of the properties listed above can exist in isolation. All components are interconnected and in constant harmony.

Initially, choral performance was amateur and only thanks to special historical conditions acquired the status of a professional art. This is where two main forms of choral activity come from - professional and amateur, hence the proper names - professional choir and amateur choir (folk, amateur). The first means a choir consisting of specially trained singers, the second means a choir in which everyone who wants to sing takes part. Classes in amateur choirs are not as regulated as in professional ones.

In choral performance, there are two main directions - academic and folk, which are characterized by qualitative differences in the manner of performance.

An academic choir (or chapel) bases its activities on the principles and criteria of musical creativity and performance developed by professional musical culture and the traditions of centuries-old experience in the opera and chamber genres. Academic choirs have a single condition for vocal work - an academic style of singing. In considering the problems of vocal and choral singing, we will start from the concept of the academic style of singing.

A folk choir is a vocal group that performs folk songs with their inherent characteristics (choral texture, vocal style, phonetics). Folk choirs, as a rule, build their work on the basis of local or regional singing traditions. This determines the variety of compositions and manner of performance of folk choirs. It is necessary to distinguish a folk choir in its natural, everyday form from a specially organized folk choir, professional or amateur, performing both truly folk songs and original compositions in the folk spirit.

Choral works can be characterized by the number of independent choral parts in them, which is determined by the concept of the type of choir. There are works for choirs of various compositions - one-voice, two-voice, three-, four- and more. The principles of using divisi (separation) in choral parts are related to the pitch ratios of singing voices, as well as their harmonic and timbre-color combinations. It is known that divisi harmoniously saturates the choral presentation, but at the same time noticeably weakens the strength of the sound of the choral voices.

The main and quantitatively minimal structural unit of the choir is the choral part, which is a coordinated ensemble of singers whose voices, in their general parameters, are relatively identical in range and timbre. It is from the choral part (a group of singers) that the construction of choral sonority begins in many aspects: the choral part represents the initial object of the conductor’s work in establishing the ensemble and structure, in the artistic decoration of the work. In this regard, the problem of the smallest number of singers (voices) in a choral part is revealed - 3-4 singers, as well as their timbre and dynamic balance.

Theoretically, according to the definition of P. G. Chesnokov, a homogeneous two-voice children's, female or male choir can consist of at least 6 singers, for example 3 sopranos (treble) + 3 altos, 3 tenors + 3 basses. However, in modern performing practice, a choir of similar size is called a vocal ensemble. A double composition of the choir is considered more full-bodied, where each part has two minimum compositions: 6 first sopranos + 6 second sopranos + 6 first altos + 6 second altos, for a total of 24 singers. Here it is also possible to divide (divisi) each party into two groups.

The number of singers in the choir parts must be the same. It is unacceptable for a female or children's group of singers of 30 people to consist, for example, of 11 first sopranos, 9 second sopranos, 6 first altos and 4 second altos. It is recommended to slightly increase the number of singers in the first soprano and second alto parts in a female (children’s) four-voice choir, which is associated both with the dynamic selection of the choral part performing the upper melodic voice (C I) and with the more compact sound of the chord base (A II) , For example:

first sopranos – 8 people;

second soprano – 7 people;

violas first – 7 people;

altos 2nd – 8 people.

Total: 30 people.

The density of the sound of the unison parts of a chamber choir, the number of which does not exceed 10 singers, is incommensurate with the sound of the choral parts of a large choir, where the number of singers in the choral parts is 20-25 singers.

In the theory of choral studies, it is customary to classify the quantitative composition of choirs into three main types - small (chamber), medium and large choirs. In modern performing practice, a chamber choir with an approximate number of singers is 20-30 people. The average mixed choir, numbering up to 40 people, involves dividing each choral part into two. The size of a large mixed choir usually ranges from 80-120 people (occasionally more).

Under favorable conditions, mass and combined choirs of several hundred and even thousands of people can be created. In choral literature there are examples of multichoral compositions, generally numbering over one and a half dozen independent choral parts.

The existing concept of a double choir means a choir divided into two honors, each of which is relatively independent; both parts of the double choir can be either mixed (full or incomplete) or homogeneous. The triple choir accordingly consists of three parts.

For any performing choir, there is special choral literature, which, of course, takes into account the timbre-catholistic features and the size of the choir. Thus, works written for a chamber choir, therefore aimed at a small group, will sound thick and heavy in a large choir numbering about 100 singers. And vice versa, the score for a large choir with divisi in different voices in the sound of a small choir loses its figurative colorfulness.

Types of choir

The composition of the performing group in groups is characterized by the term type of choir. Singing voices are divided into three groups: female, male and children. A choir consisting of the voices of one group is called homogeneous, and a choir consisting of female (or children's) and male voices or the singing voices of all three groups is called mixed. Currently, there are four types of choirs: women's, men's, children's and mixed.

Mixed choir (full composition)

The range of a mixed choir is more than 4 octaves G-A counter octave up to 3 octaves. A mixed choir has great dynamics of sound power from barely audible pp to ff, capable of competing with a symphony orchestra.

Male choir

The range of A counter octave is up to 2 octaves. The male choir has a very dynamic sound and bright timbre colors. The tenor part is the leading melodic voice and sings with a thicker chest sound.

Women's choir

Range from fatal octave to up to 3 octaves. Extreme sounds are rare. The most common is a mixed and close arrangement of voices. Many original compositions and arrangements of folk songs for women's choirs were created by Russian and foreign composers.

Children's choir

The expressive and technical capabilities of a children's choir are closely related to the age characteristics of the composition.

A child's voice is characterized by transparency, softness, sharpness of intonation, and the ability to achieve ideal tuning and ensemble. The sound of the children's choir is distinguished by spontaneity and sincerity of performance. The children's choir has great performing capabilities.

Choir arrangement

Choir arrangement is a specific system of arrangement of singers for the purpose of their joint performing activities. Domestic choral culture has accumulated a wealth of experience on the issue of choir placement. The theoretical understanding of this experience was reflected in the works of P.G. Chesnokov, G.A. Dmitrevsky, A.A. Egorov, S.V. Popov, K.K. Pirogov, V.G. Sokolov and others. Thus, V.G. Sokolov notes that “for the successful work of the choir, a certain arrangement of parts during rehearsals and concert performances, familiar to both the director and the singers, is of no small importance.”

One of the most important in this matter is the artistic and performing aspect. It is known that the arrangement should provide the singers with the most favorable conditions for ensemble. In this regard, A.A. Egorov writes: “By consistently rearranging the voices within the group and carefully selecting one voice to another based on homogeneity and timbres, it is possible to establish a complete merger and thereby lay the foundation for a choral part.”

The correct arrangement should ensure the possibility of auditory contact between the singers of different choral parts, because “good mutual audibility of choral parts creates the most favorable conditions for the emergence of an ensemble and structure, which is the basis for the coherence of the choir.”

Usually, the placement of the choir or stage is guided by established traditions. Related parties stand in the same group. The voices of each part correspond to each other in timbre, sound range, etc. The choir is positioned in such a way that high voices are on the left hand of the conductor, and low voices are on the right. In a mixed choir, sopranos are placed to the left of the conductor, followed by tenors; on the right are the altos, followed by the basses.

Among the many options for arranging homogeneous choirs, the popular one is where each part is located in a group, like a sector. In a women's or children's choir (from left to right): second sopranos, first sopranos, first altos, second altos. In the male choir: second tenors, first tenors, second basses, first basses, octavists are in the center. It is believed that placing the first high voices (I soprano or I tenors) in the middle of the choir improves sonority, and the placement of the second high voices (II soprano or II tenors) to some extent “covers” the sound of the first.

Women's (children's) choir

Male choir

This arrangement of the choir is usually used when recording. In this case, a separate microphone is placed in front of each choral part. The placement of a mixed choir when recording sound takes into account the direction of the sound of each choral part to a separately placed microphone.

In addition to the above, other options for arranging choir groups are also used, for example:

Women's (children's) choir

During rehearsals, the choir should be positioned in the same way as during performances. It is not recommended to place the choir group in one horizontal plane, as this will result in the singers losing proper visual contact with the conductor. In addition, choir members will be forced to sing “behind” the choir members in front. In a mixed choir, it is customary to place the male parts slightly higher than the female ones.

The quartet arrangement of the choir creates the best conditions for the auditory self-control of singers, takes into account the individual singing capabilities of each member of the group and is used in chamber choirs.

The placement of the choir on stage depends on the acoustic properties of the reverberation. Reverb is the acoustic property of a room due to the reflective ability of its internal surfaces, increasing the strength and duration of sounds (the “echo” effect). If there is insufficient reverb, the sound will become “dry”; if too much, the performance will be “unintelligible, dirty”. Based on this, currently in the St. Petersburg State Singing Chapel named after. M.I. Glinka (director V.A. Chernushenko) uses a choir arrangement in which female voices make up the third and fourth rows, and male voices occupy the first and second rows. At the same time, the leader of this group uses a wide arrangement of the choir.

It is better to arrange the choir group in the form of a small semicircle (fan-shaped) or, in extreme cases, in a straight line with slight curves at the edges. Placing the choir exclusively in a straight line is less practical.

When performing choral works with piano accompaniment, the instrument is placed in front of the choir in the center or to the right (of the conductor); when performed with an orchestra or ensemble accompaniment, the orchestra or ensemble is placed in front, and the choir is placed in a small semicircle behind it. For example, when performing “Three Russian Songs” by S. Rachmaninov, written for an incomplete mixed choir (altos and basses) and orchestra, the choral voices are usually located to the left (altos) and to the right (bass) of the conductor behind the orchestra on a special platform (choir stalls) . In this case, the sonority of each individual part becomes more compact and monolithic. The long-term use of one choral part, as, for example, in the indicated work, allows us to characterize the choral part with a very rare term - a choir of altos or a choir of basses.

Conducted modern scientific research on the influence of acoustic patterns and the position of singers made it possible to make adjustments to the arrangement of the choir and develop a number of practical recommendations aimed at ensuring proper conditions for auditory self-control of singers:

do not place strong and weak voices in proximity;

use a mixed version of a wide arrangement with alternating related and dissimilar voices.

The presented arrangement option has the following advantages:

Creates conditions for achieving artistic ensemble not on the basis of leveling timbres, but by identifying the natural timbre capabilities of each voice, which reflects the trend of progressive vocal and choral techniques and contributes to the successful development and improvement of singing abilities.

Creates more effective conditions for organizing the choir as a community of individuals (ensemble of soloists).

Contributes to the formation in each singer of a higher degree of responsibility for the quality of their “vocal production”. Playing music in this arrangement requires the singer to display maximum initiative and independence.

Helps to identify the individual timbre characteristics of each voice and thus has a very significant impact on the sound quality of the choir, which becomes richer in timbre, more saturated and voluminous.

Keywords

Choir; type; view; number; choral parts; female; male; mixed; children's; arrangement; execution; timbres

Brief conclusions

The vocal and methodological aspect of the choir arrangement is touched upon in works on children's musical education. Thus, M.F. Zarinskaya notes the importance of the arrangement of singers for organizing the influence of some voices on others in the process of vocal education in the choir. She recommends placing in the last row and at the edges of the choir “those who sing with the most beautiful timbre and, naturally, also experienced choristers, in front - children who sing more dimly or have certain shortcomings in singing.”

Control questions

1.What is a choir?

2.Give a description of the mixed choir.

3.What options for arranging a choir do you know?

4.What factors influence the placement of choir singers on stage?

Literature

Osenneva M. S., Samarin V. A. Choir class and practical work with the choir. - M. 2003

Keerig O.P. Choral Studies - S.-P. 2004

Sokolov Vl. Work with the choir - M., “Music” 1983.

The type of choir is determined depending on which parts make it up. A choir consisting of female voices is called a homogeneous female choir. Similarly, a male choir is called a homogeneous male choir, and a choir consisting of boys and girls is called a children's choir. There is a tradition of performing works written for children's choirs by female members and vice versa. It is possible to determine what type of choir the author intends in this case, if he does not indicate specific types of voices, based on the figurative content of the work.

A choir consisting of male and female voices is called a mixed choir. A variation of it is a choir in which the parts of female voices are performed by boys; it is often called a boys’ choir. As a rule, all Orthodox spiritual hymns written before the beginning of the 20th century were intended to be performed by such a mixed choir.

The type of mixed choirs also includes incomplete mixed choirs. Incomplete mixed choirs are those choirs where any one of the parts is missing. Most often these are basses or tenors, less often – some of the female voices.

Each type of choir corresponds to certain types of choirs. The type of choir indicates the number of choral parts included in its composition; choirs can be one-voice, two-voice, three-voice, four-voice, etc.

Homogeneous choirs usually have two main parts (sopranos + altos or tenors + basses), therefore, the main type of homogeneous choir is two-voice. The mixed choir consists of four main parts, and its most characteristic type is four-voice.

Reducing and increasing the number of actually sounding parts by duplicating or, conversely, dividing can give new types of choir. For example: homogeneous one-voice choir, homogeneous four-voice choir, mixed eight-voice choir, mixed one-voice choir, etc.

Duplications and divisions can be either permanent or temporary. A choral score with an unstable change in the number of voices will have the form called episodic one-, two-, three-, eight-voice, with the obligatory indication of a stable number of voices (for example, a homogeneous two-voice female choir with episodic three-voice). With temporary divisions, sometimes designated by the Italian word divisi, the new voices that arise have, as a rule, a subordinate meaning.

In addition to simple choirs, there are also multi-choir compositions, when several choirs, having independent choral parts, simultaneously participate in the performance of works. Such multichoric scores are especially common in opera music. In Orthodox musical practice there is also a tradition of composing so-called antiphonal works, in which two choirs sing, as if answering each other. Such compositions are called accordingly: double, triple, etc.

2. Range and tessitura features of the work

After determining the type and type of choir, it is necessary to find out the range and tessitura features of the choral parts. First of all, the overall range of the choral score is determined. To do this, it is necessary to “measure” the distance between the extreme lower and upper sounds found in a given score. For clarity, you can mark them on the staff as follows:

The concept of range is closely related to the concept of tessitura, the most used part of the range in a given work. To evaluate the tessitura, it is necessary to carefully study the use of register capabilities of voices in all parts, throughout the entire composition. Tessitura, depending on the range and register characteristics of a particular part, can be medium, high or low. For example, the registers of a soprano part would look like this.

Example 20

Similarly, taking into account the characteristics of vocal ranges, registers will be distributed in other choral parts.

A tessitura can be called comfortable if the pitch of the choral part corresponds to the free sound of the voice. If, during the performance, the voice sounds for a long time in an uncomfortable register, tensely, the tessitura is considered uncomfortable. It is difficult to sing for a long time in the upper register. In the low register, the technical and dynamic capabilities of the voice are significantly limited. In most cases, significant parts of choral parts are placed in the middle, most convenient for singing, tessitura.

However, the above does not mean that the use of extreme cases is undesirable and incorrect. Very often, it is in this way that the composer achieves the necessary timbre highlighting of a particular part, creating a certain color.

A choir is a collective that is sufficiently proficient in the technical and artistic and expressive means of choral performance necessary to convey those thoughts and feelings, the ideological content that is inherent in the work.

Types of choirs:

There are parts of voices in the choir. They are grouped according to the nature of their sound and range of voices. High female voices - soprano; low female voices - altos; high male - tenor; low male - bass; high children's voices - soprano (treble).

Characteristics of choral parts:

SOPRANO is characterized by a high, mobile, light and light sound. Most often, this part is entrusted with performing the leading melody of the work. Range: up to the first octave - D of the second octave.

Violas have a lower, dense, rich sound. In a women's two-voice choir, altos often take the lead role, singing the melody alone or together with the soprano. Range: A of the small octave - D of the second octave.

TENOR: characterized by a mobile, light, but at the same time solid, strong sound. In a mixed choir, this is the middle voice, but sometimes plays the role of the leading part, singing the melody independently or together with the soprano. Range: up to the small octave - A of the second octave.

BASS: usually the foundation, the basis of the choir. Characterized by strength, power. At the same time, the sound is light. In a male two-voice choir, the role of the second voice is played, but sometimes the main melody of the work is performed. Range: F, G large octave - D small octave.

Quantitative composition of the choir.

The number of singers in each party should be approximately the same. The smallest number of votes in a party is three. The minimum composition of a mixed choir should be 12 people.

C.3 + A.3 + T.3+B.3=12; C.3 + A.3=6; T.3 + B.3=6

Vocal ensembles

S.6 + A.6 + T.6 + B.6=24 - small chorus.

Elements of choral performance:

Ensemble (rhythmic ensemble). The ability of all singers to sing, pronounce words, take breath, start, finish a song at the same time.

Tuning (pure intonation of each singer).

Nuances (different sounds of different parts of the work).

Diction (the singers pronounce the text clearly and clearly).

Choir arrangement

For the successful work of the choir, a certain arrangement of parts is of no small importance. There are various placement methods. It is more advisable to arrange the choir in the form of a semicircle, since this creates the most concentrated sound. (see Appendix 1)