Art & MusicGreek → English
Chorale
/kəˈrɑːl/noun
A hymn tune for congregational singing, especially in the Lutheran tradition, or a harmonised setting of one.
The Greek roots
χορός
khorós
dance, band of singers
Literally: “belonging to the choir”
Follow a root:χορός6 words
The story of the word
German Lutherans called their congregational tunes Choral, from medieval Latin cantus choralis, choir song. English borrowed the German word and then hung an -e on the end that does nothing at all. Bach harmonised more than three hundred of them, and the χορός that once danced in Athenian tragedy sits underneath every one.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → German → English
- First recorded
- 19th century
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
Same family
choruschoirchoristerchoreography
In a sentence
The cantata ends with a plain four-part chorale that the congregation could join.
She played the chorale prelude at half speed to hear the inner voices.