Chorale

In modern German ‘choral’ is the term used for a hymn tune, either the melody or its simple setting, in contradistinction to ‘Kirchenlied’ which is commonly used for both hymn text and its associated tune. In modern English usage ‘chorale’ can be used to denote a German hymn, both text and tune, though it is more frequently used for the tune alone, and commonly associated with simple harmonizations of German hymn tunes, such as ‘Bach chorales’, or ‘four-part chorales’. In the 16th century two terms were commonly used to designate different types of singing: ‘figuraliter’ meaning polyphonic vocal music, and ‘choraliter’, that is, monodic unison, such as Gregorian chant. Thus the German term...