- published: 24 Mar 2012
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A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.
A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus. The former term is very often applied to groups affiliated with a church (whether or not they actually occupy the choir) and the second to groups that perform in theatres or concert halls, but this distinction is far from rigid.
The term "Choir" has the secondary definition of a subset of an ensemble; thus one speaks of the "woodwind choir" of an orchestra, or different "choirs" of voices and/or instruments in a polychoral composition. In typical 18th- to 21st-century oratorios and masses, chorus or choir is usually understood to imply more than one singer per part, in contrast to the quartet of soloists also featured in these works.
Choirs are often led by a conductor or choirmaster. Most often choirs consist of four sections intended to sing in four part harmony, but there is no limit to the number of possible parts as long as there is a singer available to sing the part: Thomas Tallis wrote a 40-part motet entitled Spem in alium, for eight choirs of five parts each; Krzysztof Penderecki's Stabat Mater is for three choirs of 16 voices each, a total of 48 parts. Other than four, the most common number of parts are three, five, six and eight.
Eric Whitacre (born 2 January 1970 in Reno, Nevada) is an American Grammy award winning composer, conductor and lecturer. He is one of the most popular and performed composers of his generation. In 2008, the all-Whitacre choral CD Cloudburst (released by the British ensemble Polyphony on Hyperion Records) became an international best-seller, topping the classical charts and earning a Grammy nomination. Robert Hollingworth commented: "what hits you straight between the eyes is the honesty, optimism and sheer belief that passes any pretension. This is music that can actually make you smile." In addition to Whitacre's litany of choral and wind ensemble compositions, he is also known for his "Virtual Choir" projects on YouTube, bringing individual voices from around the globe together in a cyber internet choir. His virtual choirs have exposed his music to a new audience and have helped it gain an unprecedented popularity. Whitacre signed a long-term recording deal with Decca in 2010 and continues to develop his award winning musical Paradise Lost. A concert version was given at Carnegie Hall in 2010. Plans for the stage show and soundtrack extend into 2013.
David Bowie ( /ˈboʊ.i/ BOH-ee; born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947) is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s. He is known for his distinctive voice and the intellectual depth and eclecticism of his work.
Bowie first caught the eye and ear of the public in July 1969, when his song "Space Oddity" reached the top five of the UK Singles Chart. After a three-year period of experimentation he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era with the flamboyant, androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust, spearheaded by the hit single "Starman" and the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Bowie's impact at that time, as described by biographer David Buckley, "challenged the core belief of the rock music of its day" and "created perhaps the biggest cult in popular culture." The relatively short-lived Ziggy persona proved merely one facet of a career marked by continual reinvention, musical innovation and striking visual presentation.
Actors: Noel Gallagher (actor), Dick Carruthers (director), Jeremy Azis (producer), Ed Coleman (editor), Robert Gorrie (actor), Marcus Russell (actor), Andy Kinsman (actor), Russ Pritchard (actor), John Mindlin (actor), Vincent Lawlor (actor), Bob Bishop (actor), Alec McKinlay (actor), Glyn Jones (actor), James Brown (actor), Steve James (actor),
Genres: Documentary, Music,Actors: Anthony McPartlin (actor), Anthony McPartlin (actor), Anthony McPartlin (actor), Declan Donnelly (actor), Gary Lineker (actor), Simon Cowell (actor), Anthony McPartlin (actor), Anthony McPartlin (actor), Declan Donnelly (actor), Declan Donnelly (actor), Declan Donnelly (actor), Declan Donnelly (actor), Declan Donnelly (actor), Cliff Richard (actor), Anthony McPartlin (actor),
Genres: Comedy, Music,Actors: Hidehiro Ito (miscellaneous crew), Jessica Renslow (miscellaneous crew), Chris Boscardin (editor), Ken Stachnik (miscellaneous crew), Ken Stachnik (miscellaneous crew), Dave Cain (miscellaneous crew), Erika Oda (actress), Rick Vargas (actor), Jason Harrington (miscellaneous crew), Ed Koziarski (producer), Ed Koziarski (writer), Ed Koziarski (director), Junko Kajino (producer), Junko Kajino (director), Junko Kajino (writer),
Plot: A young Okinawan woman named Rei kidnaps the teenage son of a U.S. Marine with whom she shares a dark and mysterious past.
Keywords: character-name-in-title, number-in-titleActors: Christina Hwang (miscellaneous crew), Stanley Clarke (composer), Ice Cube (producer), Michael Beach (actor), Loretta Devine (actress), Trae Ireland (producer), Nicholas Turturro (actor), Katt Williams (actor), Ice Cube (actor), Don Abernathy (actor), Keith David (actor), Tracy Morgan (actor), Clifton Powell (actor), Chi McBride (actor), Starletta DuPois (actress),
Plot: Durell Washington and LeeJohn Jackson are best friends and bumbling petty criminals. When Durell learns that his ex-girlfriend plans to move to another state with their son Durell Jr.--unless they can get her $17,000 to pay off a debt-- and so Durell and LeeJohn ultimately comes up with a desperate scheme to rob their neighborhood church. But when the duo fumbles their way through the break-in, they discover someone has beaten them to the punch. In order to get their hands on the money, Durell and LeeJohn are forced to spend the night in the presence of the Lord and his followers--and end up getting a lot more than they bargained for.
Keywords: african-american, african-american-comedy, air-conditioner, baltimore-maryland, black-comedy, caper, cell-phone, choir, choir-director, churchActors: Xzibit (actor), Tim Ware (actor), Michael O'Keefe (actor), Tim Blake Nelson (actor), Chaz Smith (actor), M. Jearl Vinot (actor), Lance E. Nichols (actor), Elton LeBlanc (actor), Anthony Mackie (actor), Louis Herthum (actor), Will Patton (actor), Paul Guilfoyle (actor), Charles S. Dutton (actor), Carol Sutton (actress), Lucinda Jenney (actress),
Genres: Drama,Actors: Paul DeNigris (director), Paul DeNigris (editor), Paul DeNigris (producer), Laura Durant (actress), Steve Briscoe (writer), Steve Briscoe (actor), Steve Briscoe (producer), Tracey Shrier (actress), Vince Reign (actor), Louie Palmieri (actor), Laura DeNigris (producer), Lindsey Marlin (actress), Todd Anderson (actor), Daniel Baranowsky (composer), Isaac DeNigris (miscellaneous crew),
Plot: Janet is an attractive and together young woman smart enough to be cognizant of a female's frequently precarious position in the corporate hierarchy. Steve is the business owner's brother and an insufferable chauvinist boor. He is a figure immediately recognizable and universally loathed by every woman who has ever entered the hallowed portals of the corporate world. Tricked into lunch alone with Steve, Janet suffers his outrageous and demeaning discourse as long as she can, until she can only retreat into her imagination... A place where she can safely deal with a creature such as this. A place where she can make him sharply aware of the error of his ways.
Genres: Comedy, Short,Actors: Paul DeNigris (director), Paul DeNigris (editor), Paul DeNigris (producer), Laura Durant (actress), Steve Briscoe (writer), Steve Briscoe (actor), Steve Briscoe (producer), Tracey Shrier (actress), Vince Reign (actor), Louie Palmieri (actor), Laura DeNigris (producer), Lindsey Marlin (actress), Todd Anderson (actor), Daniel Baranowsky (composer), Isaac DeNigris (miscellaneous crew),
Plot: Janet is an attractive and together young woman smart enough to be cognizant of a female's frequently precarious position in the corporate hierarchy. Steve is the business owner's brother and an insufferable chauvinist boor. He is a figure immediately recognizable and universally loathed by every woman who has ever entered the hallowed portals of the corporate world. Tricked into lunch alone with Steve, Janet suffers his outrageous and demeaning discourse as long as she can, until she can only retreat into her imagination... A place where she can safely deal with a creature such as this. A place where she can make him sharply aware of the error of his ways.
Genres: Comedy, Short,Actors: Jennifer Morrison (actress), Phill Lewis (actor), Christina Applegate (actress), Stephen Root (actor), David Selby (actor), Ben Affleck (actor), Sy Richardson (actor), James Gandolfini (actor), Marshall Manesh (actor), Peter Jason (actor), Kent Osborne (actor), Tom Kenny (actor), Udo Kier (actor), Betty Thomas (producer), Catherine O'Hara (actress),
Plot: Drew Latham is an executive leading an empty, shallow life with only wealth on his side. Facing another lonely Christmas ahead, Drew wants to revisit his old childhood home and possibly relive some old holiday memories. But when he arrives, he finds that the house in which he was raised is no longer the home in which he grew up. Inhabited by another family, Drew offers a nice financial reward that has the family ringing. But is Drew's generous cash offer only the beginning of an annoying visitor who's a little too overeager to celebrate Christmas?
Keywords: actor, advertising-executive, african-american, airport, airport-security, amateur-theater, anger, assault, audience, based-on-novelActors: Ron Wisman (editor), Brian Kaulback (actor), Joshua Close (actor), Andreas Grünberg (producer), Catherine Black (actress), Andrea Alvarez (miscellaneous crew), Jake Simons (actor), Sean Clement (actor), LeAnne Armano (miscellaneous crew), Charles Kassatly (producer), David J. Woods (producer), Izidore K. Musallam (director), Charles Kassatly (producer), Izidore K. Musallam (writer), Michael Kremko (actor),
Plot: Adam is a dashing young priest who catches the eye of Eve. Adam is having trouble fighting his desires to be with his young pursuer, and before long, finds himself in a steamy affair with the woman. Homosexual dancer Jason can't hide his jealousy over the newly formed couple and begins to challenge the pair's staying power
Keywords: catholic-schoolgirl, choir, love-triangle, priest, seduction, sex-standing-up, sex-with-a-priest, woman-on-topActors: Aki Kaurismäki (producer), Jan-Eric Nyström (miscellaneous crew), Timo Linnasalo (editor), Aki Kaurismäki (director), Aki Kaurismäki (writer), Mauri Sumén (actor), Sakari Kuosmanen (actor), Sakari Kuosmanen (actor), Mato Valtonen (actor), Sakke Järvenpää (actor), Silu Seppälä (actor), Atte Blom (actor), Kirsi Tykkyläinen (actress), Kirsi Tykkyläinen (actress), Jore Marjaranta (actor),
Plot: A 57 minute documentary of a Helsinki concert featuring the Leningrad Cowboys and the Alexandrov Red Army Choir and Ballet, who collaborate on a number of US Rock songs sung in English (like "Sweet Home, Alabama") as well as more traditional Russian songs like the "Volga Boatman".
Keywords: 1990s, choir, concert-film, cross-cultural-relationship, helsinki-finland, leningrad-cowboys, live-concert, pop-culture, rock-band, rock-documentary