Chorale

One word, several meanings

Originally, the German word Choral names the single-line chant of the Western liturgy, also called Gregorian chant. In Protestant use the word means the congregational hymn: a melody with text that the congregation sings. The same melody can be set in several parts, and this setting is also called a chorale. In cantatas and oratorios, inserted hymn verses are likewise called by this name. Which meaning is intended is shown by the context, and the sheet music archive contains two of them.

The setting on the page

In the typical chorale setting the voices move in the same rhythm: each note of the melody has one chord, with one note in each voice. This is called homophony. The example above makes this visible with two voices, because the notes of both voices line up exactly above one another. The fermata holds a sound beyond its written value. In Schumann’s piano setting it comes at the end of each group of four bars.

In the sheet music archive

Piano setting in the style of the chorale

• Ein Choral Robert Schumann, from: Album for the Young, op. 68 No. 4 · piano · 1 page

  Titled “Ein Choral”, in French “Un choral”, tempo “Lentement”, 4/4, one sharp in the key signature, beginning with p. The piano part has two staves with four voices in all, mostly in half notes. Fermatas in bars 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24 and 28 divide the piece into groups of four bars; in the last bar, bar 32, there is a fermata under the bass.

Melodies marked with the genre “Choral”

• Nun danket alle Gott Melody: Johann Crüger · single voice with chord symbols · 1 page

  Beneath the title it says “Choral”. The sheet is a single-line melody in 4/4 with one sharp and chord symbols, three verses. Here the word therefore means the hymn, not a four-part setting.

• Befiehl du deine Wege Melody: Hans Leo Haßler · single voice with chord symbols · 1 page

  Also headed “Choral”, 4/4, one ♭ in the key signature, an upbeat of one quarter note. Verses 2 and 12 appear as text beneath the notes, and a note refers to another hymn number with the same melody.

Comparing the three sheets shows the difference in meaning: Schumann’s piece is a written-out four-part setting for piano; the two song sheets give only the melody of the hymn, with chord symbols for the accompaniment.

Common mistakes

• Confusing chorale and choir: The chorale is a kind of music, the choir the group that can sing it.
• Thinking every chorale is in four parts: It can also mean only the melody of the hymn, as in the two song sheets.
• Reading fermatas as rests: They prolong the sound; the voices do not pause.