All Topics  
Quire (architecture)

 
Quire (architecture)

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Quire (architecture)
 
 
  Topics Quire (architecture) Topic Home

Architecturally, the choir (alt. spelling quire) is the area of a church or cathedral
Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop. It is a Religion building for worship, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicanism, Orthodox Christian and some Lutheranism churches, which serves as a bishop's seat, and thus as the central church of a dioc...
, usually in the western part of the chancel
Chancel

"Chancel" is an architectural term for the space around the altar at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse....
 between the nave
Nave

In Romanesque architecture and Gothic architecture Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and Church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar....
 and the sanctuary
Sanctuary

Sanctuary has multiple meanings. A sanctuary is the consecrated area of a church or temple around its church tabernacle or altar. An animal sanctuary is a place where animals live and are protected....
 (which houses the altar
Altar

An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices and votive offerings are made for religion, or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place....
). The choir is occasionally located in the eastern part of the nave.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Quire (architecture)'
Start a new discussion about 'Quire (architecture)'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Cathedral
Architecturally, the choir (alt. spelling quire) is the area of a church or cathedral
Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop. It is a Religion building for worship, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicanism, Orthodox Christian and some Lutheranism churches, which serves as a bishop's seat, and thus as the central church of a dioc...
, usually in the western part of the chancel
Chancel

"Chancel" is an architectural term for the space around the altar at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse....
 between the nave
Nave

In Romanesque architecture and Gothic architecture Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and Church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar....
 and the sanctuary
Sanctuary

Sanctuary has multiple meanings. A sanctuary is the consecrated area of a church or temple around its church tabernacle or altar. An animal sanctuary is a place where animals live and are protected....
 (which houses the altar
Altar

An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices and votive offerings are made for religion, or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place....
). The choir is occasionally located in the eastern part of the nave. In some monastic churches the choir occupies the western end of the nave and thus counterbalances the chancel and sanctuary.

History


In the Early Church the sanctuary was connected directly to the nave. Choir was simply the east part of the nave, and was fenced off by low railing, called cancelli, from which we get our English word chancel
Chancel

"Chancel" is an architectural term for the space around the altar at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse....
. The development of the architectural feature known as the choir is the result of the liturgical
Liturgy

A liturgy is the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to their particular traditions. The word may refer to an elaborate formal ritual such as the Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy and Mass , or a daily activity such as the Muslim salat and Jewish Jewish services....
 development brought about by the end of persecutions under Constantine the Great and the rise of monasticism
Monasticism

Monasticism is the religion practice in which one renounces world pursuits in order to fully devote one's life to spiritual work. The origin of the word is from Ancient Greek, and the idea was originally related to Christian monks....
. The word "choir" is first used by writers of the Western Church. Isidore of Seville
Isidore of Seville

Saint Isidore of Seville was Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and has the reputation of being one of the greatest scholars of the early Middle Ages....
 and Honorius of Autun write that the term is derived from the "corona
Corona

A corona is a type of Plasma "celestial body's atmosphere" of the Sun or other celestial body, extending millions of kilometres into space, most easily seen during a total solar eclipse, but also observable in a coronagraph....
", the circle of clergy or singers who surrounded the altar.

When first introduced, the choir was attached to the bema
Bema

The Bema means a raised platform. In antiquity it was probably made of stone, but in modern times it is usually a rectangular wooden platform approached by steps....
, the elevated platform in the center of the nave on which were placed seats for the higher clergy and a lectern
Lectern

A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, usually placed on a stand or affixed to a some other form of support, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon....
 for scripture readings. This arrangement can still be observed at the Basilica
Basilica

The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a ancient Rome public building , usually located in the Forum of a Roman town. In Hellenistic cities, public basilicas appeared in the 2nd century BC....
 of St. Mary Major in Rome. Over time, the bema (or presbytery
Presbytery (architecture)

The Presbytery is the name for an area in a church building which is reserved for the clergy.References...
) and choir moved eastward to their current position. In some churches the choir is arranged in the apse
Apse

In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault . In Romanesque architecture, Byzantine architecture and Gothic architecture Christian abbey, cathedral and church architecture, the term is applied to the semi-circular or polygonal section of the sanctuary at the liturgical east end beyond the altar....
 behind the altar
Altar

An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices and votive offerings are made for religion, or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place....
.

Some European cathedral
Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop. It is a Religion building for worship, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicanism, Orthodox Christian and some Lutheranism churches, which serves as a bishop's seat, and thus as the central church of a dioc...
s have a retro-choir behind the High Altar, opening eastward towards the chapel
Chapel

A chapel is a building used as a place for fellowship and of worship for Christians. It may be attached to an institution such as a large Church , a college, a hospital, a palace, a prison or a cemetery, or may be an entirely free-standing building, sometimes with its own grounds....
s (chantries
Chantry

Chantry is the England term for the establishment of an institutional chapel on private land or within a greater church, where a priest would chant Mass ....
) in the eastern extremity.

The architectural details of the choir developed in response to its function as the place where the Divine Office
Divine Office

Divine Office may refer to:* Liturgy of the Hours, the recitation of certain Christian prayers at fixed hours according to the discipline of the Roman Catholic Church...
 was chanted by the monastic brotherhood or the chapter
Chapter

Chapter, as an organizational class title, may refer to:* Chapter , a main division of a piece of writing* An organisational division, such as a chapter of the Audubon Society or of a Fraternities and sororities....
 of canons
Canon (priest)

A canon is a priest who is a member of certain bodies of the Christianity clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule .Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergyhouse or, later, in one of the houses within the precinct or close of a cathedral and ordering his life according to the orders or rules of the church....
.

The pulpit
Pulpit

File:Convento Cristo Decemebr 2008-18.jpgA pulpit is a small elevated platform from which a member of the clergy delivers a Sermon in a house of worship....
 and lectern
Lectern

A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, usually placed on a stand or affixed to a some other form of support, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon....
 are also particular to this area of the church. There may also be another free-standing lectern in the center of the isle, facing towards the sanctuary. The organ may be located here, or in a loft elsewhere in the church.

Seating


The choir area is occupied by sometimes finely carved and decorated wooden seats known as choir stalls, where the members of the choir
Choir

A choir, chorale, or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral Music, in turn, is the music written specifically for a choir to perform....
 sit, stand or kneel during services. The choir may be furnished either with long benches (pew
Pew

A pew is a long bench furniture bench used for chair seating members of a Church building church's congregation.Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the coming of the Protestant Reformation....
s) or individual choir stalls. There may be several rows of seating running parallel to the walls of the church.

Klosterbuxheim Chorgestuehl
The use of choir stalls (as opposed to benches) is more traditional in monasteries and collegiate church
Collegiate church

In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canon ; a non-monastic, or secular clergy community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a Dean or Provost ....
es. Monastic choir stalls are often fitted with seats that fold up when the monastics stand and fold down when they sit. Often the hinged seat will have a misericord
Misericord

A misericord is a small wooden shelf underneath folding seats in Church installed to provide some level of comfort for those standing during long periods of prayer....
 (small wooden seat) on the underside on which he can lean while standing during the long services. The upper part of the monk's stall is so shaped as to provide a headrest while sitting, and arm rests when standing. Monasteries will often have strict rules as to when the monastics may sit and when they must stand during the services.

Choir benches are more common in parish church
Parish church

A parish church, in Christianity, is the local church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopalian church governance churches....
es. Each bench may have padded kneeler
Kneeler

Kneeler is a piece of furniture used for resting in a kneeling position....
s attached to the back of it so that the person behind may kneel at the appropriate times during services. The front row will often have a long prie-dieu
Prie-dieu

A prie-dieu is a type of prayer desk primarily intended for private devotional use, but also often found in Church es of the European continent....
 running in front of it for the choir members to place their books on, and which may also be fitted with kneelers.

In a cathedral, the bishop's throne or cathedra
Cathedra

A cathedra is the chair or throne of a bishop. It is a symbol of the bishop's teaching authority in the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, and has in some sense remained such in the Anglican Communion and in Lutheran church es....
 is usually located in this space.

See also

  • Cathedral architecture
  • Cathedral diagram
    Cathedral diagram

    This article discusses cathedral diagrams in Western ecclesiastical architecture. These floor plans show the sections of walls and piers, giving an idea of the profiles of their columns and ribbing....
  • Cathedral architecture of Western Europe
    Cathedral architecture of Western Europe

    A cathedral is a church , usually Roman Catholic, Anglican, or Eastern Orthodox, housing the seat of a bishop. The word cathedral takes its name from the word cathedra, or Bishop's Throne ....
  • Kathisma
    Kathisma

    A Kathisma , literally, "seat", is a division of the Psalter, used by Eastern Orthodox Church Christians and Eastern Catholics who follow the Byzantine rite....
  • Kliros
    Kliros

    The kliros is the section of an Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic Churches Church dedicated to the choir. It refers both to the general space in which Cantor or singers assemble for the services, as well as to the actual musical stand or shelves on which music is stored and read....


External links

  • article from The Catholic Encyclopedia
  • article from The Catholic Encyclopedia
  • at Southwark Cathedral
    Southwark Cathedral

    Southwark Cathedral or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge....