ABOUT CHORAL MUSIC

Choral singers vary greatly in their ability and performance.
The best choral singers possess (among others) the following abilities:

• to sing precisely in tune (on the correct pitch) and with a vocal timbre(or color) which complements the other singers;
• to sing at precisely controlled levels of volume, matching the dynamics marked in the score or prescribed by the conductor, and not sing so loudly as to be markedly detectable as an individual voice within the section;
• to sight-read music fluently;
• to read and pronounce the text accurately and in the pronunciation style specified by the leader, whatever the language may be. This includes correct diction, proper vowels and timing of diphthongs, and correct placement of consonants;
• to remain completely alert for long periods, monitoring closely what is going on in a rehearsal or performance;
• to monitor one's own singing and detect errors, correcting them as they go along,
• to accept direction from others for the good of the group as a whole, even when the singer disagrees aesthetically with the instructions;
• to produce a healthy and pleasing tone through the use proper vocal technique;
• to sing using pure vowels through vowel tracking to match the group;

Singers who have perfect pitch require yet other skills;

• to sing music in keys other than that in which it is written, since choirs often sing music in transposed form.
• to stay "in tune" with the ensemble, even in the event the ensemble modulates slightly away from "perfect" pitch
• to provide ensembles with the key or starting pitch that a piece begins on, usually with unaccompanied pieces

Choral music has had a long and varied history with it’s roots firmly placed in the medieval Gregorian chant which then developed into other form as such as the multiple melodic part arrangement pieces of the organum which morphed into polyphonies, clausulaes and motets.

It wasn’t fully developed into an artform until the renaissance period where sacred choral music was considered ‘serious’ and principal form of music in Western Europe. Choral music continued to be popular throughout the era, mostly in a religious setting and was as respected as ever by the time the Baroque period arrived. It was at this time that the concertato, a style combining the voices with musical instruments was developed and the style continued to flourish and pave the road for styles such as the oratorio which are mostly based around biblical stories.