Choirboy
Encyclopedia
A choirboy is a boy
member of a choir
, also known as a treble.
As a derisive slang
term, it refers to a do-gooder or someone who is morally upright, in the same sense that "Boy Scout
" (also derisively) refers to someone who is considered honorable or conscientious.
music can be traced back to pre-Christian times. Saint Paul
's dictum that "women should be silent in churches" (mulieres in ecclesiis taceant) resonated with this largely patriarchal tradition; the development of vocal polyphony
from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance
and Baroque
thus took place largely, though not exclusively, in the context of the all-male choir, in which all voice parts were sung by men and boys.
The first known usage in print of the term "choirboy" (rather than the earlier "singing boy") was by the Victorian novelist William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863) in chapter vii of his story The Ravenswing, published in Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country (London, Sept. 1843, XXVIII/165, p. 321): "He had been a choir-boy at Windsor".
In more recent years as girls have begun joining formerly all-male choirs, the gender-neutral term chorister is more often being used instead. (Until the late 20th century chorister was sometime applied to adult choral singers too, but is now limited to children.)
Extensive musical training is provided, in particular for cathedral choristers. A number of famous composers and musicians began their careers as choristers. In 1740, Joseph Haydn
was sent at the age of eight to Vienna to become a choirboy at Saint Stephen's Cathedral. Franz Schubert
was accepted into the choir of the Imperial Court Chapel in 1808 when he was 11. Dudley Moore
became a choirboy at six.
A small bursary is paid to the boys each term, and opportunities arise for other bonuses during the year.
(RSCM) organized the first national competition for Choirboy of the Year in 1975. It was sponsored by Rediffusion and received more than 2,500 entries. The final, which took place in St George's, Hanover Square, London
, was won by Matthew Billsborough. He sang the St. Matthew Passion
by Bach
.
The competition was open only to boy choristers up until 1986 when the BBC
first organized an additional separate competition for girl choristers through the age of 16. The two competitions ran side-by-side for three years before the RSCM competition began including girls in its own competitions, naming both a choirboy and choirgirl of the year. From 1989 to 1992, both the BBC and RSCM named a different girl as Choirgirl of the Year.
In 1998, BBC Radio 2
began hosting a combined boys and girls competition, without any other simultaneous competitions. James Fox, from St. Mary's Warwick, was named Choirboy of the Year and Eloise Irving, from West Sussex, was named Choirgirl of the Year. The format has remained the same through the most recent competition.
Thomas Jesty
) was BBC Young Chorister of the Year 2004. Both he and Harry Sever (the 2003 winner) had solos on the December 2004 album "Hear My Prayer". They also took part in the United Kingdom's
biggest fundraising concert in aid of the victims of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami
.
The 2007 winners of the BBC Radio 2
Young Chorister of the Year competition were twelve-year-old Joel Whitewood of Canterbury Cathedral
and 15-year-old Charlotte Louise McKechnie of Giffnock South Church in Scotland. The finals were held at St Paul's Cathedral
in London
and hosted by Aled Jones
.
The 2008 winners of the BBC Radio 2
Young Chorister of the Year competition were twelve-year-old Harry Bradford of the Chapel Royal
, St. James's Palace
, London and 14-year-old Alice Halstead of St. Alphege's Church, Solihull
. The finals were held at St Paul's Cathedral
in London
and hosted by Charles Hazlewood
.
Boy
A boy is a young male human , as contrasted to its female counterpart, girl, or an adult male, a man.The term "boy" is primarily used to indicate biological sex distinctions, cultural gender role distinctions or both...
member of a choir
Choir
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...
, also known as a treble.
As a derisive slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
term, it refers to a do-gooder or someone who is morally upright, in the same sense that "Boy Scout
Boy Scout
A Scout is a boy or a girl, usually 11 to 18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group into a junior and a senior section...
" (also derisively) refers to someone who is considered honorable or conscientious.
History
The use of choirboys in Christian liturgicalLiturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
music can be traced back to pre-Christian times. Saint Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
's dictum that "women should be silent in churches" (mulieres in ecclesiis taceant) resonated with this largely patriarchal tradition; the development of vocal polyphony
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
and Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
thus took place largely, though not exclusively, in the context of the all-male choir, in which all voice parts were sung by men and boys.
The first known usage in print of the term "choirboy" (rather than the earlier "singing boy") was by the Victorian novelist William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863) in chapter vii of his story The Ravenswing, published in Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country (London, Sept. 1843, XXVIII/165, p. 321): "He had been a choir-boy at Windsor".
In more recent years as girls have begun joining formerly all-male choirs, the gender-neutral term chorister is more often being used instead. (Until the late 20th century chorister was sometime applied to adult choral singers too, but is now limited to children.)
Becoming a Chorister
Boys are generally eligible to join a choir at the age of seven. Voice trials are part of the selection process for larger choirs and tend to measure the quality of voice and pitch recognition rather than singing experience. Boys that are accepted into a choir begin as probationers.Extensive musical training is provided, in particular for cathedral choristers. A number of famous composers and musicians began their careers as choristers. In 1740, Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
was sent at the age of eight to Vienna to become a choirboy at Saint Stephen's Cathedral. Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
was accepted into the choir of the Imperial Court Chapel in 1808 when he was 11. Dudley Moore
Dudley Moore
Dudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
became a choirboy at six.
A small bursary is paid to the boys each term, and opportunities arise for other bonuses during the year.
Choristers of the Year
The Royal School of Church MusicRoyal School of Church Music
The largest church music organisation in Britain, the Royal School of Church Music was founded in 1927 by Sir Sydney Nicholson and has 11,000 members worldwide; it was originally named the School of English Church Music. It seeks to enable church music in the present and invest in its future,...
(RSCM) organized the first national competition for Choirboy of the Year in 1975. It was sponsored by Rediffusion and received more than 2,500 entries. The final, which took place in St George's, Hanover Square, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, was won by Matthew Billsborough. He sang the St. Matthew Passion
Matthäuspassion
The St Matthew Passion, BWV 244, , is a musical composition from the Passions written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander . It sets chapters 26 and 27 of the Gospel of Matthew to music, with interspersed chorales and arias...
by Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
.
The competition was open only to boy choristers up until 1986 when the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
first organized an additional separate competition for girl choristers through the age of 16. The two competitions ran side-by-side for three years before the RSCM competition began including girls in its own competitions, naming both a choirboy and choirgirl of the year. From 1989 to 1992, both the BBC and RSCM named a different girl as Choirgirl of the Year.
In 1998, BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
began hosting a combined boys and girls competition, without any other simultaneous competitions. James Fox, from St. Mary's Warwick, was named Choirboy of the Year and Eloise Irving, from West Sussex, was named Choirgirl of the Year. The format has remained the same through the most recent competition.
Thomas Jesty
Thomas Jesty
Thomas Jesty is a treble and Head Quirister at the Winchester College Chapel Choir and BBC Young Chorister of the Year 2004. Both he and Harry Sever had solos on the December 2004 album "Hear My Prayer"...
) was BBC Young Chorister of the Year 2004. Both he and Harry Sever (the 2003 winner) had solos on the December 2004 album "Hear My Prayer". They also took part in the United Kingdom's
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
biggest fundraising concert in aid of the victims of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
.
The 2007 winners of the BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
Young Chorister of the Year competition were twelve-year-old Joel Whitewood of Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
and 15-year-old Charlotte Louise McKechnie of Giffnock South Church in Scotland. The finals were held at St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and hosted by Aled Jones
Aled Jones
Aled Jones is a Welsh singer and television/radio personality, broadcaster and television presenter who first came to fame as a treble...
.
The 2008 winners of the BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
Young Chorister of the Year competition were twelve-year-old Harry Bradford of the Chapel Royal
Chapel Royal
A Chapel Royal is a body of priests and singers who serve the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they are called upon to do so.-Austria:...
, St. James's Palace
St. James's Palace
St. James's Palace is one of London's oldest palaces. It is situated in Pall Mall, just north of St. James's Park. Although no sovereign has resided there for almost two centuries, it has remained the official residence of the Sovereign and the most senior royal palace in the UK...
, London and 14-year-old Alice Halstead of St. Alphege's Church, Solihull
St. Alphege's Church, Solihull
St. Alphege's Church, Solihull is a parish church in the Church of England in Solihull, West Midlands.-History:The church is medieval. The previous spire was 59m and collapsed in 1757: the current spire is 57.34mThe Church, dedicated to St...
. The finals were held at St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and hosted by Charles Hazlewood
Charles Hazlewood
Charles Matthew Egerton Hazlewood is a British conductor and advocate for broadening access to orchestral music. Renowned for his widespread presence across the BBC, he conducts orchestras around the world, making his debut with the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Orchestra of the Age of...
.
See also
- Boy sopranoBoy sopranoA boy soprano is a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range. Although a treble, or choirboy, may also be considered to be a boy soprano, the more colloquial term boy soprano is generally only used for boys who sing, perform, or record as soloists, and who may not necessarily...
- Boys' choirBoys' choirA boys' choir is a choir primarily made up of choirboys who have yet to begin puberty or are in the early to middle stages of puberty and so retain their more highly pitched childhood voice type...
- Choir stalls
- Royal School of Church MusicRoyal School of Church MusicThe largest church music organisation in Britain, the Royal School of Church Music was founded in 1927 by Sir Sydney Nicholson and has 11,000 members worldwide; it was originally named the School of English Church Music. It seeks to enable church music in the present and invest in its future,...
- The BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
boyband The ChoirboysThe Choirboys (boyband)The Choirboys are an English boy band, made up of cathedral choristers. In 2005, a talent search was held to find a young chorister to bring choral music into the then current music scene, however, the judges could not decide which of its three finalists should be given the recording contract and...