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question for Eupher

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franksolich:
This is addressed to Eupher, because it’s right up his alley, but if anyone else knows anything at all about the matter, please feel free to illuminate me.

As many here know, I “listen” to youtube via the help of a couple of implements that hearing people would find insufferable, but which are necessary for me to “hear.”

Anyway.

There appears to be two basic set-ups for church choirs, one of them where the choir faces the audience, like these two examples:




And then there’s another setting where the choir walks in and separates into one of two sides, such as shown here:








Okay, my question.  I am aware there are two sorts of male voices, bass and tenor, although to be honest, even if someone were to put a gun to my head and demand that I “listen” and tell the difference, the trigger might as well be pulled, because I can’t.  Bass, tenor, both sound pretty much alike to me. 

(I can however differentiate between soprano and alto in women—of course given the appropriate equipment--although I have no idea why.)

In the example of the “split” choir, is there one side that’s bass and the other side’s tenor? If so, which is which?

It seems to me the case of the full choir facing the same way is rather more complicated, because they put the younger ones up front, and the older ones out back.  I have no idea but I bet this presents a totally different “hearing” experience, as compared with a “split” choir.

Does it?

Remember, these might seem like stupid questions, but I can’t hear, so I have no idea myself.

ExGeeEye:
In my experience, which is not comprehensive, a Soprano-Alto-Tenor-Bass (SATB) choir is arranged with the higher registers to one side and lower to the other, and the women or boy singers in front of the men. 

First example, an adult choir of 20 members in two rows, across the front of a space:

T  T  T  T  T  B  B  B  B  B  <--men

S  S  S  S  S  A  A  A  A  A  <--women

                 L   <--choir leader


   Audience/Congregation

In the second example, a 20 member male choir (using boys in the upper registers) in the (architectural) choir of a large church or cathedral basically splits the above and rotates the halves left or right, thus:

Men     Boys          Boys     Men
 T        S            A        B
 T        S            A        B
 T        S            A        B
 T        S            A        B
 T        S            A        B
                L

   Audience/Congregation

Hope that's clear.  Naturally, it may not be universally correct.  Local custom and/or numerical imbalance my require adjustment.

franksolich:
Thank you sir; that answer is exactly what I was seeking, and explained so well.  You and Tanker must be brothers or something.

Since it's all kind of, sort of, a muddled mess to me (although with all this new technology, considerably less muddy), one might wonder why the curiosity about the placement of voices in a choir.  It's because I use the imagination to fill in the blanks of what I can't hear--certain notes and their intensity--and I prefer the imagination be based upon reality.

So generally, the further to the left, the higher the men's and women's voices?

ExGeeEye:
Generally.

Clustering the voices makes for easier rehearsals, among other things.  Like clustering the instruments in an orchestra or band. 

Part of the aesthetic enjoyment is hearing the different voices positionally; not only when they blend, singing the same thing in harmony, but when they go off in different but harmonious directions.   See, if you can find it, the score of the Confutatis of Mozart's Requiem where the Tenors and Basses are playing off each other.

freedumb2003b:

--- Quote from: franksolich on September 05, 2016, 08:05:47 AM ---Thank you sir; that answer is exactly what I was seeking, and explained so well.  You and Tanker must be brothers or something.

Since it's all kind of, sort of, a muddled mess to me (although with all this new technology, considerably less muddy), one might wonder why the curiosity about the placement of voices in a choir.  It's because I use the imagination to fill in the blanks of what I can't hear--certain notes and their intensity--and I prefer the imagination be based upon reality.

So generally, the further to the left, the higher the men's and women's voices?

--- End quote ---

Not necessarily.

Many times the chorus is split to have similar sounds on L/R to match each other -- this arrangement can produce a rich "3D" sound.

The problem with that approach is that it requires singers of almost perfect pitch as they can't hear and match each other.

The general default is as EGY said: similar registers together as with a band to ensure pitch fidelity.

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