Figure 1.--Many boy choirs, like this Bulgarian choir, were carefully outfitted in distinctive costumes, but in recent years are more likely to wear blazers or other less striking modern costumes. |
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Many countries of Western and Central Europe have a long tradition of church boys' choirs dating back to the early years of the church. Some of the first European schools after the fall of the Roman Empire were formed by the church at monestaries to educate young choristers. The choirs were primarily associated with the Catholic Church, but choirs were also formed by some Protestant churches. The Orthodox Church was less interested in boy choirs. The choral tradition was to a large part lost in the disorders and wars following the Reformation and relious wars of the 17th century. It was further weakened as a result of the anti-clerical direction of the French Revolution. Choirs survived in England and scattered other lications in Germany and Austria. The boy choral tradition was revived in the 20th century, especially in England, France, Germany, and America. Although there are now many girls' and mixed choirs, until recently the church choirs were all boy choirs.
The choir has taken its name from the area of the church occupied by the singers. At different periods of church archetecture, it came to designate two distinct areas:
Early churches: The area of the church mid-way between the upper end, or sanctuary, occupied by the higher clergy, and the lower end, or naive and isles,
occupied by the laity.
Medieval and later churches: In later churches the entire upper or eastern end of the church, including the high alter and aspe, to which the singing had been transferred.
The European boy choir was created to provide musical accompaniment to church services. Following scriptual references that women should remain silent in church, only boys were allowed to sing in the early choirs. HBC has at this time only limited information on church music, but hopes to obtain needed information. Choral music is music written in parts, usually for four different voices and performed by a chorus or choir. The coral service is the musical service celebrated by a full complement of clergymen, lay clerks, and choristers, and sung or intoned in the rubrics. The European boy choral tradition originated in the church and for a milenium was purely an eclesiartical function. Secular boy choirs have appeared in 20th century and now consitute a substantial number of choirs. Even cathedral choirs in turn have added a variety of secular music for their performaces outside of religious services.
Boy singers have been involved with the Christian church from early in the church's history. They were an important pat of church services for centuries. New forms of music were developed as the choirs moved from Gregorian chant to polyphony. While the boy choir tradition was almost lost in the strife and warfare following the Reformation. The different Christian churches have viewd boy choir music differently. The tradition was further weakened by the anti-clerical direction of the French Revolution. Boy choirs survived in England and a few locations in Germany and Austria. The boy choir tradition has been revived in the 20th century, by both church and secular choirs.
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The history of boy choirs is rooted in the catholic church. Some of the oldest known European schools since the fall of Rome were schools opened at cathedrals and monestaries to train boys for choirs. The oldest exist choirs appear to be English and German/Austrian choirs and date to the 16th century. While France has one of the more active boy choral movements, all of the existing choirs are of very recent creation.
The early choral tradition was broken by the anti-clericism of the French Revolution. The idea of secular boy choirs which are important in America
is a relatively new idea, primarily a 20th century development. Interestingly two countries with the strongest catholic traditions (Italy and Spain) do not appear to have strong boy choral traditiions. None of the better known European choirs are Italian or Spanish. Another important catholic country has a few wellknown choirs, but they appear to be of realtively recent origin reflecting Poland's turbulent history.
The Western choral tradition is largely that of the Roman Catholic Church until the Reformation. The Eastern or Orthadox Church also had a Since the Reformation, but HBC has few details at this time. With the Reformation the choral tradition becomes much more complex. The wars and diorders commencing with re Reformation and then Frencgh Revolution greatlty affected the Church and its ability to support choir schools. Except for the Anglican choirs in England, the boy choir tadition was largely lost on the Continent and not revived until the 20th century by many different religious denominations. HBC at this time, however, has only limited information on the chotral traditions of differebnt denominations.
Boy choir costumes have vaired greatly over time and from country to country. Nany choir directors believe that the costume is very important and have given great attention to it. Other choirs directors attach less imporatnce to it. A variety of garments have become associated with boys choirs. Generally however choir costumes have reflected the boys' cclothing of the day, although choirs are odten conservative about making changes in the costume.
Why are choir uniforms important? Surely it is the music that is important? Why have choir over centuries given so much importance to uniforms? Even in America where uniforms for children, until recently, have not been important, choirs have given considerable attention to uniforms. Some European choirs have quite destinctive uniforms. Others have adopted contemporary dress. While the costumes of modern choirs are quite varied, many but not all choir directors are convinced that the costume is important.
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The costumes for formal church singing was eclesiastical wear dictated by the local church and in keeping with the dress of priests, vicars, and other churchmen. The primary choir garment is the surplice which is a white linnen garment worn over a robe. The surplice is worn by Roman Catolic eclesiastics in choir
except the officiants of the mass. It is also worn by Anglican/Episcopalian clergy. The surpice is worn by laymen and boys in both the Catholic and anglican church who sing in the choir or assist at the altar. As choirs developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, new costimes were developed for performanes of non-eclesiastical music, including sailor suits and velver suits or other formal dress. German boy choirs such as the Vienna choir boys often chose sailor suits. French and British choirs often had short pants costumes. Several boys' choirs were formed in America, one of the most famous being the Harlem Boys' Choir. Since the 1970s, most choirs have gradually adopted blazers and long pants. A few choirs continue more traditional costumes like the Vienna Choir Boys who continue to wear sailor suits. Some are concerned about the future of boys choirs and one of the concerns is choir costumes and and the participation of girls. The Times newspaper of July 13, 1998 provided some interesting insights. The growing number of girls' choirs in cathedrals could be damaging the traditional all-male choir beyond repair, according to some leading English organists. Boys are apparently increasingly unwilling to join choirs where girls have been admitted. The primary reason for this notable trend is that many boys do not want to be seen doing what they preceive as "girlish things", according to a report by the Friends of Cathedral Music. The organisation, which is "monitoring developments" in girls' choirs, gives warning that the tradition of male choral music in cathedrals is being threatened by political correctness. It says that boys who are prepared to dress up in "white surplices and triple ruffs" if they sing with men, apparently think twice when girls appear alongside them. The growing shortage of boys means that there will be fewer men able to sing bass or tenor in cathedral or other choirs at a time when most choral music is still written with parts that
must be sung by men. Gordon Stewart, organist at Blackburn Cathedral, says that it has become politically unacceptable for many to have all-male choirs. He notes wryly: "It's all right to destroy centuries of tradition for the sake of political correctness". He continues: "How do I get on, working in a place like Blackburn, with a bunch of 30 boys, some of them aged 14, dressed up in white surplices and triple ruffs? It works because it is an all-male environment and the men are in white surplices too and they are just as disciplined in rehearsals as the boys ... make singing into something the girls do, and you will find very few real little boys wanting to do it."
A wide variety of garments are associates with choir groups. Some of the most important have been the following. Many of the distinctibe garments are the liturgigal garments worn by the British cathedral choirs and te folk costumes worn by various European choirs. Choir costumes have also been stringly influenced by British school uniforms, as choristers are often attached to the public and preparatory schools maintained by English cathedral choirs. Another major choir costume has been the sailor suits favored bu German and Scandinavian choirs.
All of the best known children's choirs are boy choirs. This includes choirs like the Vienna Boys' Choir and the English cathedral choirs with rigorous choral instruction. This has changed somewhat with the organization of girl choirs at some English cathedrals. Still the best known choirs continue to be boy choirs. This is primarily because of the the tradotional male dominance in most Christian churches, especially those which sponsor choirs. Some argue there are difference in voices of boys and girls, but this is controversial. There are, however, mny mixed children's choirs around the world. Some countries only have mixed childrens's choirs. These mixed groups were much more common in Communist countries. There are cultural factors involved here that we do not fully understand. We also notice them in Meditteranean countries like Italy, apparently because of difficulties recruiting boys. We only seem to notice mixed choirs in Asia. (The only exception here is choirs organized at single gender schools.) Almost all of these mixed choirs have training programs much less rigorous than the European boys choirs.
Church goers througout Europe for centuries have gathered beneath the soaring arches of the great cathedrals to celebrate the mass and later the services of Protestant denomanations. The servoces would be enriched by the sweet soprano voices of generations of boy choristers. This tradition has begun to change. At several of England's great cathedrals, girl choirs have been formed. Girl and mixed choirs are not a new phenomenon. Theyt exist in many countries and individual churches often organize such choirs. But the new girl choirs in England are being organized for serious music. There is no though to creating a serious mixed choir as the great choral master woorks have been in fact written for boys' voices. But even the creation of girl choirs is proving extremely controversial.
The treble boy voice is considered by many to be a treasure of nature. HBC in collecting information for these choral pages, notes many references to boys' voices. We have been able to find, however, no definitive study. There are some clearly established facts. It is clear that some choral music was written for boy singers as old as 18 years. It is also clear that boys' voices now break sooner than they did even a few generations ago. Several accounts indicate that boys' voices before World War II were breaking at age 14-15 years. I'm not sure why this was, but presumanly improved diets are an important factor. This we can not, however, yet confirm. What seems much less likely is that earlier boys; voices may not have been breaking until age 18 years. We can not say definitively that this was not the case, but there are other explanations. Some observers believe that it is more likely that choir masters were teaching boys whose voices were breaking to adjust the register and manner of singing. [Beet]
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Some interesting movies have been made in Europe about boys choirs. The movies have
been of uneven quality, but do show some details about the cotumes worn by choirs in the
various countries. The films reflect the various costumes worn by the choirs in the various
countries, including sailor suits, short pants, lederhosen and other outfits.
HBC has noted numerous drwings of choir boys. They are a popular subject for Christmas cards by often unidentified artists. We have noted many such American, English, French, and German drawings. These cards began to appear in the 19th century. There are also paintings of choir boys, but we have not noted modern paintings before the 19th century. This probably reflects the fact that many boy choral music became popular and that many chours were organized then. We have also noted some beautiful drawings by French illustrator Pierrer Joubert who is better known for his illustrations of French Scouting. Most of the drawings, especially the ones for Christmas Cards, show the choristers snging in eclesiastical robes.
HBC would like to suport the many choirs listed in this section. We would be pleased to update our web pages as ppropriate with the latest informnatioin on the choirs. We also will add a link from the choir pages to internet pages offering recordings of a choir's music for sale. Interested choirs need only provide HBC the appropriate link. We also plan to eventually add links to sites with choral music.
Many technical terms are used in association with choirs. This includes both terms used with the eclesiastical garments worn by many choirs and music terms associated with choral music, especially church music. The glossary might assist HBC readers better understand these pages.
Beet, Stephen. Sleeve notes to "Tis there, my child, the Better Land".
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