Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of or relating to a chorus or choir.
  • adjective Performed or written for performance by a chorus.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pertaining to or characteristic of a chorus or a choir; performed in rhythmic concert, as music or dancing.
  • In music, specifically, pertaining to or designed for concerted vocal, as distinguished from instrumental, performance: as, Mendelssohn's choral works.
  • noun A simple musical composition in harmony, suited for performance by a chorus. Often written chorale.
  • noun A tune written or arranged for a sacred hymn or psalm; specifically, such a tune written in the style of the hymn-tunes of the early Protestant churches, both Lutheran and Reformed, having a plain melody, a strong harmony, and a stately rhythm.
  • noun In the Roman Catholic Church, any part of the service which is sung by the whole choir (cantus choralis), generally consisting of a part of the ancient church music (cantus firmus), sung in unison, or more frequently sung by the tenor, while a greater freedom is allowed in the parts.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Of or pertaining to a choir or chorus; singing, sung, or adapted to be sung, in chorus or harmony.
  • adjective a service of song.
  • noun (Mus.) A stately hymn tune; a simple sacred tune, sung in unison by the congregation, used mostly in Protestant (especially Lutheran) churches.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective of, relating to, written for, or performed by a choir or a chorus
  • noun variant spelling of chorale

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a stately Protestant (especially Lutheran) hymn tune
  • adjective related to or written for or performed by a chorus or choir

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Medieval Latin chorālis, from chorus, choral dance, from Latin; see chorus.]

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Examples

  • By the term choral song we are not to understand anything resembling our singing of a chorus in parts.

    A Popular History of the Art of Music From the Earliest Times Until the Present 1874

  • I think I love shadow reading because it harks back to my Welsh training in choral recital – and the buzz and energy of being part of the group performing on stage.

    L is for Lockstep « An A-Z of ELT 2010

  • While this entry lends more supporting evidence that the practice at the time was having men sing all choral parts save, occasionally, the top (dessus) line in choral music from the period, Rousseau rocks because he asks, WTF?

    Jean-Jacques Rousseau: champion of among other things, mezzos! Celeste Winant 2008

  • Next, send them out on to the ice floes of the frozen Baltic and get them to shout - in choral unison - at a stranded 10,000-ton ice breaking vessel, and you have got something called Mieskuoro Huutaja (Men's Choir Shouters) ... a new art form, and it is taking parts of the world by arctic storm.

    Boing Boing: February 1, 2004 - February 7, 2004 Archives 2004

  • As a long term choral singer I've been subjected to many whims of Latin pronunciation, including one director who insisted at all times on "authentic" pronunciation but had a very dodgy grasp of what that might have entailed.

    languagehat.com: TRANSLATING THE PASSION. 2004

  • Both schools were heavily oriented towards music, and he received a strong grounding in choral music, including numerous appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, a

    Hoffman, David W. 1977

  • While at the academy he was active in choral groups, and produced and directed several original musical comedies.

    Hoffman, David W. 1977

  • I quote from the jacket of their beautiful recording, The Gracious Time: Today's Gentlemen and Boys of St. Simon's follow a tradition of excellence in choral music that began 80 years ago.

    Christmas Luncheon 1973

  • The Renaissance Singers, Seattle's own masters of ancient polyphony, will add a new slant to their name for their holiday concert this year by focusing on the most recent renaissance in English choral music: the early 20th century.

    The Seattle Times 2009

  • Fiji’s Methodists gather each August at a different location to take part in choral competitions, collect money for the church’s work and discuss social and political issues.

    Global Voices in English » Fiji: ‘A Christian state’? 2009

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