Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/786

* CHOPINE. 688 CHORAL SOCIETIES. vere worn by ladies under the shoes, and were usually made of wood covered with leather, often of various colors, and frequently painted and gilded. Some of them were as much as half a yard high ; and in Venice, where they were usually worn, their height distinguished tlie ((Uality of the lady. Evelyn, in his flian/ (1G45), <ielines them as "high-hcel'd shoes particularly all'ectod by these ])roude damos, or, as some say, invented to keepe them at home, it being very difficult to walke with them." CnOP'TANK RIVER. A river rising in Kent County, Delaware (Map: Marj-land, O 5). It flows southwest through that State and Maryland, and becomes a wide estuary 20 miles long as it nears Chesapeake Bay, into which it empties. It is navigable for small vessels for about 10 miles. CHORA GIG (k6-raj'ik) MONUMENT (from Gk. xopayiK&^, (hortifiikos, ehoragic, from X"P"-7^it chorarfos, leader of the chorus, from X'>I"''C, choros, dance + ayctv, agein, to lead). The choragus, or person at Athens who, on behalf of his tribe, had supported the chorus (q.v.), and who, in competition with the other tribes, had exhibited the best musical performance, received a tripod for a prize ; but he had the expense of consecrat- ing it, .and of building the monument on which it was placed. There was in Athens a whole street formed by these monuments, called the 'Street of the Tripods.' A fine specimen still remaining is 'the ehoragic monument of Lysicrates,' erected in B.C. 334, in honor of a victory with a chorus of boys. Consult Stuart and Revett, "Antiquities of Athens," I., Ameri- can Journal of Archwologi/, VIII. (Baltimore, 1893). CHORALE, k6-ra'le (Med. Lat. choraUs, from T>at. chorus, Gk. x^P^iy^^ofos, dance, chorus). A melody to which hymns or psalms are sung in church by the congregation in unison. The Catholic Church service has from early times contained chorales, but the name is generally applied to those in the style introduced by Luther into the German Protestant Church in the Sixteenth Century. Realizing the great power of music to awaken religious emotion, he determined to carry his reforms into the music of the Cliurch service, and to invigorate it with new life. He selected simple tunes from many sources, sacred and secular, and arranged them to fit the hymns and psalms used in the service. Some of the most attractive of the ancient Latin hymns were chosen — the chorale "ITcrr Gott, dich loben wir," is adapted from a song of praise by Saint Ambrose. German songs furnished material for many others. The inspiration proved a great success; con- gregations everywhere joined heartily in sing- ing the familiar melodies, and their religious interest took a new growth. Tlie chorale became a popular form of composition, and many fine examples of this style were written during the Sixteenth and Seventeenth centuries. The most important of the early collections of chorales was the one published by Luther and his friend .Tohann Walther. in l.'5'24, called the Hitchiridion. Chorales were intended always to have an org.an sceompaniment, which was iisually contrapuntal, and as time went on these accompaniments were made more and more elaborate by the organists, who found this a tempting field for display. Originally chorales were strongly rhythmical in character, with frequent alternations of duple and triple rhytlim; and this, being in direct con- trast to the droning, imrliythmical nature of the Gregorian chant, formed one of their greatest attractions. By a gradual process of change, however, this rhythmic element has disappeared, and diorales are now sung in notes of almost uniform length. German writers complain of this 'llattening-out' process, and regret the loss of character which has lesulted. Hut even without its original rhythm, the fine simplicity and stately .solemnity of the chorale render it an ideal form for the expression of religious fervor. Probably the nuist famous of all chorales is the one popularly accredited to Luther him- self — "Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott." This stirring tune has been incorporated into many compositions. It appears in one of Bach's can- tatas, and in Mendelssohn's I'cfonnutiun iiytn- phony; is heard in Wagner's Kaiser Marsch, and forms an important theme in Mej'erbeer's opera Les Huyueiwts. Bach's works abound in beautiful chorales, and when these are sung by a large chorus the ef.ect is wonderfully impressive and inspiring. CHORAL (ko'rol) MUSIC. JIusic written in parts, usually for four different voices, and performed by a chorus or choir. See .xtiiem; Hymnolooy. CHORAL SOCIETIES. Associations of ama- teur singers formed for the purpose of perform- ing large choral works are of comparatively re- cent date. During the Middle Ages, and down to the end of the Eighteenth Century, vocal works were performed exclusively by profes- sional musicians, who composed the regular church choirs, or were attached to some royal or aristocratic chapel. Public concerts were of rare occurrence. The chief musical interest after the beginning of the Seventeenth Century was the operji. As operatic perfornuinces were prohibited during Lent, performances of oratorios and other works of a sacred character were in- stituted. With the growth of musical culture music-lovers were no longer satisfied with the few public ])erfornuinces, but met together for the purpose of studying concerted works. For the instrumental jiarts the services of professional musicians were enlisted. Although the ab.sence of any high standards or lofty aims did not al- low these early attempts of amateurs to reach a high degree of perfection, these meetings, nevertheless, did prepare the way for the estab- lishment of choral societies with artistic aims. The sudden and rapid growth of instrumental music, beginning with Haydn and ilozart, and resulting in the perfection of the modern orches- tra, also created a desire for a higher standard in the performance of vocal music. The merest accident led to the establishment of the first permanent choral society, which is still in existence today and world-famous as the Berliner Singakademie. Karl Christian Faseh (1730-1800) had settled in Berlin as a singing-master. In 1783 Keichardt. at that time royal chapel-master, submitted to Fasch the score of a sixtccn-part mass by Benevoli. In a spirit of rivalry Fasch at once set to work to compose a similar mass, which he attempted to jierform with a chorus of twenty singers se- lected from the royal chapel in Potsdam. This attempt proved a failure, and the work was laid