A chorale is a type of church singing that took shape in the Reformation era as a simple, solemn hymn for the congregation to sing together. Its hallmarks are a measured, “walking” motion in even durations, a four-voice texture (the melody in the top voice), and a full-sounding, clear harmony.
The unsurpassed master of the chorale was J.S. Bach: his more than 300 harmonizations of Protestant chorales are still the standard on which students the world over learn voice leading and harmony. The chorale texture (chords of equal duration) also became an expressive means in its own right in works of various eras, when a composer wishes to achieve solemnity, concentration, or prayerful elevation. The chorale is, as it were, the “frozen architecture” of harmony, where each chord can be examined in all its beauty.
