Choir or Chorus?

[DracoM]

What is the difference between a Choir and a Chorus?

[jean]

Nothing, necessarily.

Chorus is originally a Latin word, derived from the Greek χορός, which danced as well as sang. We can use it for sections of music as well as for groups of performers.

Choir is English, is used for performers only, and usually they don't dance.

[Gabriel Jackson]

I suppose 'chorus' can suggest size - most choirs that call themselves a chorus are large (BBC Symphony Chorus, Edinburgh Festival Chorus...). But then a 'choir' can be large (the Bach Choir...)...

[jean]

I think a Choral Society is always large, and Singers are usually small.

(Nice piece of yours at the end of today's The Choir, Gabriel. See, it's sometimes worth listening.)

[Gabriel Jackson]

(Nice piece of yours at the end of today's The Choir, Gabriel. See, it's sometimes worth listening.)

That's kind, Jean! What was it?

[light_calibre_baritone]

What is the difference between a Choir and a Chorus?

This sounds like the start of a joke..............

[jean]

You mean like What's the difference between [conductor of choice] and a chiropodist?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Choir is English, is used for performers only, and usually they don't dance.

Is this derived, perhaps, from the architectural name for the place in the church where the singers originally sang?

(And - again, I'm asking rather than stating - there can be Instrumental Choirs, too; although this has become archaic.)

Otherwise, yes - a "Chorus" is in many/most cases larger than a "Choir".

[jean]

Is this derived, perhaps, from the architectural name for the place in the church where the singers originally sang?

More likely the other way round, I'd have thought - the chorus angelorum/choirs of angels were singing in Heaven long before they were emulated in any part of a terrestrial building.

...What was it?

It was Let us all rejoice in the Lord.

But I had to wait for the announcer to tell me, because I couldn't hear a word

[Gabriel Jackson]

It was Let us all rejoice in the Lord.

Ah...a piece which an American reviewer once described as hip-swinging, which made me feel a bit nauseous.

But I had to wait for the announcer to tell me, because I couldn't hear a word

I don't think that's the choir's fault, possibly mine a little bit...

[Magnificat]

You mean like What's the difference between [conductor of choice] and a chiropodist?

Jean,

Or: 'What's the difference between an organist and a terrorist?'

What is the difference between said conductor and a chiropodist?

VCC

[Pabmusic]

Thinking only of modern usage, I suspect that 'chorus' is a slightly wider term than 'choir'. Stage musicals, for instance don't usually feature choirs, but they do choruses (which often dance, too). Also, 'chorus' has a separate existence as a repeated, 'all join in', section within a song.

[jean]

Or: 'What's the difference between an organist and a terrorist?'

Don't know that one.

What is the difference between said conductor and a chiropodist?

A chriropodist bucks up the feet.

[french frank]

Thinking only of modern usage, I suspect that 'chorus' is a slightly wider term than 'choir'.

Are choruses 'generally' associated, temporarily or permanently, with an orchestra (Welsh National Opera orchestra and chorus, BBC Symphony Chorus? And thus tackling the hefty works with 'dramatic' soloists (opera, oratorio, musicals) more often than smaller works, a cappella?

[jean]

Are choruses 'generally' associated, temporarily or permanently, with an orchestra (Welsh National Opera orchestra and chorus, BBC Symphony Chorus? And thus tackling the hefty works with 'dramatic' soloists (opera, oratorio, musicals) more often than smaller works, a cappella?

I think you'd expect opera companies to have choruses, but symphony orchestras are divided - the CBSO has a chorus, but the Hallé and the RLPO have choirs.

And then of course there are the choral societies, probably not as many as they used to be