chorus
/ˈkɔːrəs
/noun (plural choruses)
1A part of a song which is repeated after each verse: strong guitar-driven songs with big, big choruses...
- An anthemic song with a big chorus, and an infectious spring in its step, the number demonstrated Rooster's readiness to have fun with a big riff.
- These are real songs here, with choruses and verses and vocals wrapped around each other.
- Short and sweet, the songs spin around catchy choruses; witty verses are largely absent.
Synonyms
refrain, burden, strain
informal hook
1.1A piece of choral music, especially one forming part of a larger work such as an opera: a selection of choruses from the ‘Messiah’...
- Also, the music is more sectional, with clearly defined arias, ensemble pieces, and choruses.
- The Leonin pieces alternate ensemble choruses of chant with organum passages which feature a solo voice floating melodic lines over the drone.
- Although also without recitative, there were arioso pieces and instrumental symphonies, with choruses which included chorales.
1.2A simple song for group singing in informal Christian worship: a typical service includes several hymns and choruses sung by all...
- She wrote choruses that were sung in her church.
- Worship is a mix of the good old traditional hymns and the more modern choruses led by the music group.
- Some use musical instruments while others do not; some sing only Psalms while others use hymns and choruses.
2A large organized group of singers, especially one which performs with an orchestra or opera company: he has words of praise for the RSNO Chorus...
- The singers, choruses and orchestras that Britten conducts are among the finest that were ever recorded with a veritable array of British talent that one only dreams of assembling.
- Under Mackerras's direction, singers, the huge chorus and orchestra played this in convincing, passionate fashion.
- The balance between the orchestra, the choruses, and the soloists is excellent - the engineering helps.
Synonyms
choir, ensemble, choral group, choristers, vocalists, (group of) singers
2.1A group of singers or dancers performing together in a supporting role in a musical or opera: the orchestra lacked polish and the chorus were inclined to rush ahead regardless...
- A native of the town is bringing together special guests, choruses and dancers to perform all the big hits from the West End musicals.
- They made 42nd Street - the story of a girl plucked from the chorus to the lead role in a Broadway musical - more than just a fluffy fairy tale.
- She was unique in her day because most female dancers danced in the chorus and there were very few female solo performers.
Synonyms
chorus line, dance troupe;
dancing girls
3A simultaneous utterance of something by many people: a growing chorus of complaint ‘Good morning,’ we replied in chorus...
- But the chorus of whines about interference in the internal affairs of the country is 90 per cent arrant hypocrisy.
- We beeline to Church Street and do the same thing, blowing through red lights and garnering a chorus of catcalls from the local street life.
- American novelists have done their bit to swell the chorus of lamentation.
Synonyms
in unison, together, simultaneously, at the same time, as one;
in concert, in harmony
4(In ancient Greek tragedy) a group of performers who comment together on the main action: Sophocles no longer gave the chorus the major role...
- In Greek tragedy the chorus commented on the action, but in Feathers of Peace there is no commentator giving moral comment.
- All Greek tragedies have choruses, who take on the roles of observers, narrators, commentators and critics.
- In Greek theatre the chorus always marched onto stage in a square, but danced in circular mode.
4.1A single character who speaks the prologue and other linking parts of the play, especially in Elizabethan drama.The play begins with a sonnet spoken by the chorus and in its poetry, language, and plot reflects the sonnet craze of the 1590s, from which period Shakespeare's own sequence dates....
- Four individual characters and a chorus add flesh and blood to Sircar's play.
- He is also accustomed to introduce a character as a sort of chorus, to detail the progress of events to his audience.
4.2A section of text spoken by the chorus in drama.So rhetorical techniques, such as choruses and verses and meter have always been very important....
- The film version is slightly expurgated (eliminating the play's chorus), but otherwise faithfully maintains Marlowe's poetry.
- The play's second chorus, with its explicit denunciation of ‘rash’ and ‘heady’ conclusion, resonates significantly beyond the specific circumstance of ‘this tale of Herod's end’.
5A device used with an amplified musical instrument to give the impression that more than one instrument is being played: [as modifier]: a chorus pedal...
- The only thing that places it as an early 80s artifact is the sound of guitars squeezed through chorus pedals.
- In those days, it always had a bit of chorus pedal on it, which made the bass sound a little thicker.
- Lead singer enjoyed using her chorus pedal while the lead guitarist couldn't stop creating textures and backward-sounding leads with his volume pedal.
verb (choruses, chorusing, chorused) [with object]
(Of a group of people) say the same thing at the same time: [with direct speech]: ‘Morning, Sister,’ the nurses chorused...
- The crowd, chorusing its approval, evidently felt it was safe to start the customary Mexican wave, and Pierce, basking in her new - found serenity, scored herself a few brownie points by joining in.
- More than 40,000 chorused it back at them when Kris Boyd regained his scoring touch to give the home side a lead they never squandered.
- Caught up in the enthusiasm, we all chorused a hearty ‘Hallelujah!’
Origin
Mid 16th century (denoting a character speaking the prologue of a play): from Latin, from Greek khoros.
choir from Middle English:
The early spellings with a ‘q’ are from Old French quer, from Latin chorus (which entered English in the mid 16th century). The spelling change in the 17th century was due to association with the Latin. The spelling variant quire has never been altered in the English Prayer Book (‘In Quires and Places where they sing, here followeth the Anthem’).