A choir, also sometimes called quire, is the area of a church or cathedral that provides seating for the clergy and church choir. It is in the western part of the chancel, between the nave and the sanctuary, which houses the altar and Church tabernacle. In larger medieval churches it contained choir-stalls, seating aligned with the side of the church, so at right-angles to the seating for the congregation in the nave. Smaller medieval churches may not have a choir in the architectural sense at all, and they are often lacking in churches built by all denominations after the Protestant Reformation, though the Gothic Revival revived them as a distinct feature.
The choir of Bristol Cathedral, with the nave seen through the chancel screen, so looking west
The Quire in Palencia Cathedral in northern Spain, an example of a monastic quire
Choir stalls at Boston Stump, Lincolnshire. A seat has been lifted to reveal the misericord.
Elaborately carved choir stalls at Buxheim Charterhouse in Bavaria, by Ignaz Waibl
A choir is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words is the music performed by the ensemble. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which spans from the medieval era to the present, or popular music repertoire. Most choirs are led by a conductor, who leads the performances with arm, hand, and facial gestures.
Evensong rehearsal by Blue Coat CE School Choir, Coventry, in the quire of York Minster, showing carved choirstalls
Egyptian Alexandria Jewish choir of Rabbin Moshe Cohen at Samuel Menashe synagogue, Alexandria, Egypt
The boychoir Cantores Minores in the Helsinki Cathedral in 2013
Lambrook School choir in the 1960s, a typical boys' school choir of the time