Chorale

German congregational song of the Reformation, square in phrase and easy to sing.

Related

RenaissanceCounterpointCadenceOrgan

A chorale is the German congregational song of the Reformation, with square phrases and clear syllables for a congregation to sing.

Origins and dating

In the sixteenth century Luther promoted German worship and turned Latin chant and folk tunes into hymns for the congregation. Ein feste Burg and Aus tiefer Not became central. Bach used chorales in his cantatas and Passions, setting them as four-part harmony or organ preludes. Later it entered organ music and choral works.

Listening features

The melody is syllabic, with a modest range and firm cadences. Rhythm is square, often in quarters and halves, with little syncopation. In four-part settings the tune lies on top while three lower parts support it with chords. An organ prelude stretches the melody while other voices weave motives around it. Follow the text and the phrases breathe.

Figures

Luther wrote Ein feste Burg, Bach chorale preludes and Passion chorales, Brahms Eleven Chorale Preludes, and Reger and Hindemith continued the form.

Lineage

It grows from Latin chant and German folk song and leads to the Lutheran cantata, Passion, organ literature and the nineteenth-century choral tradition.

Misconceptions

A chorale is not a translation of Latin chant, since its melody and rhythm were newly designed. Nor is it only church music, since Bach made it an independent instrumental genre.

Sources

• The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., entry Chorale — definitions and chronology checked, not quoted
• Richard Taruskin, The Oxford History of Western Music, Vol. 2 (Oxford University Press, 2005) — Lutheran context checked, not quoted

Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.