A lay clerk, also known as a lay vicar, song man or a vicar choral, is a professional adult singer in an Anglican cathedral and often Roman Catholic Cathedrals in the UK, or (occasionally) collegiate choir in Britain and Ireland. The vicars choral were substitutes for the
canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
s. They are not in
holy orders; the term "vicar" is derived from the Latin adjective ''vicarius'' ("substituted") and in this context simply means a deputy. The majority of lay clerks are male; however, female altos are nowadays becoming increasingly common.
The title refers to the laymen who were employed to sing musical sections of church services during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. At the time, this was often music which was evolving into a format too complicated to be sung by many ordinary
clerk
A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...
s and priests.
In the diocese of
Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
an endowment for six vicars choral to sing the liturgy was established in 1237, unusual for the non-monastic cathedrals where normally the canons were each responsible for providing and maintaining a vicar. The six were supposed to be two priests, two deacons, and two sub-deacons. In 1395 the vicars choral were incorporated into a college of 27 and in 1472 a new college, its handsome quadrangle still standing, was built on the site of two canons’ houses to the south east of the cathedral. This collegiate establishment at Hereford was most unusual; the only other cathedral with a similar body was St. Paul's where there was a much smaller college of minor canons. Although these vicars choral gradually also became
chantry
A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings:
# a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or
# a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area in ...
priests, the establishment at Hereford survived the Reformation.
With the post-war proliferation of Cathedral choral scholarships, however, many cathedral or collegiate choirs comprise a balance between choral scholars (or, as at
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...
, and
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
, "academical clerks") – university or "
gap year
A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is typically a year-long break before or after college/university during which students engage in various educational and developmental activities, such as travel or some type of regular work. Gap yea ...
" students who combine their studies or other commitments with singing – and lay clerks. Choral scholars sing alongside lay clerks for usually around half the latter's salary. Many universities now offer such scholarships to fill places within college and cathedral choirs.
Undergraduates admitted to a College on the basis of their ability and potential in both singing and academic study are traditionally called "Choral Scholars". At
Christ Church,
Magdalen College
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the st ...
, and
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...
, they are called "Academical Clerks".
Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford – Academical Clerks
"Clerks Choral", or Choral Clerks are also found in a few of the ancient Cathedrals and collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a ...
es in the United Kingdom and Ireland however these singers are more usually styled "lay clerks" or occasionally "lay vicars" or "lay vicars choral".
Historic titles
* Choral Bedesman – Boston, Lincolnshire
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lay Clerk