A royal chapel is a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

associated with a

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

, a

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

, or in a

royal palace This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa * Abdin Palace, Cairo * Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo * Koubbeh Palace, Cairo * Tahra Palace, Cairo * Menelik Palace * Jubilee Palace * Guenete Leul Palace * Imperial Palace- Massa ...

. A royal chapel may also be a body of clergy or musicians serving at a royal court or employed by a monarch.

Commonwealth countries

Both the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

have a tradition of

Chapels Royal The Chapel Royal is an establishment in the Royal Household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the British Royal Family. Historically it was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also appl ...

German language countries

The first noble or royal court orchestras in German language regions, most of which were founded in the sixteenth century, were called

Hofkapelle A court chapel (German: Hofkapelle) is a chapel (building) and/or a chapel as a musical ensemble associated with a royal or noble court. Most of these are royal (court) chapels, but when the ruler of the court is not a king, the more generic "co ...

. When the noble and royal courts dissipated the name was often replaced by Staatskapelle ("State Chapel"), usually indicating an orchestra with a prior tradition as Hofkapelle. The

Vienna Boys Choir The Vienna Boys' Choir (german: Wiener Sängerknaben) is a choir of boy sopranos and altos based in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countr ...

replaced the former Hofkapelle at the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Hofburg The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Located in the centre of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn ...

four years after the original musical ensemble was disbanded in 1920, following the collapse of the monarchy.

Other European royal courts

Denmark

Choir of the Chapel Royal, Copenhagen. Det Kongelige Kapel / Royal Danish Orchestra

France

The musical establishment attached to the royal chapel of the French kings, the Chapel Royal was founded in the time of the Merovingian kings and reached its zenith under the Old Regime. Under the direction of a clergyman, the Master of the Chapel, the staff included undermasters in charge of rehearsals and the composition of royal masses, an organist, cornetists and around thirty singers and choristers, as well as masters who taught music to the children. The establishment grew during the reign of Louis XIV to include castrati and women, and the many instruments needed to perform motets. By the death of King Louis XIV, in 1715, the Chapel Royal had a total of 110 singers (sopranos, castrati, haute-contres, tenors, baritones and bass) and 20 instrumentalists (violin and viola, bass violin, theorbo, flute, oboe, bass cromorne, serpent and bassoon)
Chapelle du château de Versailles

Italy

The

Chapel Royal of Naples The Chapel Royal of Naples (Italian: ''Cappella Palatina'' or ''Cappella Reale dell'Assunta'') was the sacred musical establishment of the Spanish court in Naples which began with the Aragonese Court of Naples, and continued under the Habsburgs ...

, under the rule of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

, then of

Habsburg Spain Habsburg Spain is a contemporary historiographical term referring to the huge extent of territories (including modern-day Spain, a piece of south-east France, eventually Portugal, and many other lands outside of the Iberian Peninsula) ruled be ...

, the

Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanish ...

and finally

Joseph Napoleon it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte , house = Bonaparte , father = Carlo Buonaparte , mother = Letizia Ramolino , birth_date = 7 January 1768 , birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic of ...

, was the centre of sacred music in southern Italy.

Portugal

Spain

There are several chapels in Spain designated by the

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

as chapels royal ( es, Capilla Real), including the Royal Chapel at the

Royal Palace of Madrid The Royal Palace of Madrid ( es, Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies. The palace has of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the ...

and the

Royal Chapel of Granada The Royal Chapel of Granada ( es, Capilla Real de Granada) is an Isabelline style building, constructed between 1505 and 1517, and originally integrated in the complex of the neighbouring Granada Cathedral. It is the burial place of the Spanish m ...

. Formerly, the Flemish chapel was used separately by the Spanish kings and queens (who also ruled parts of the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

in the 16th century) through the reigns of

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...

, Philip III, and Philip IV, until 1637, when it was merged into the ''capilla real española''.

Sweden

The

Royal Chapel A royal chapel is a chapel associated with a monarch, a royal court, or in a royal palace. A royal chapel may also be a Chapel (music), body of clergy or musicians serving at a royal court or employed by a monarch. Commonwealth countries Both ...

, Stockholm.

Other courts

Other courts, like the Imperial ones, could have

court chapel A court chapel (German: Hofkapelle) is a chapel (building) and/or a chapel as a musical ensemble associated with a royal or noble court. Most of these are royal (court) chapels, but when the ruler of the court is not a king, the more generic "co ...

s similar to the Royal ones.

References

External links

{{Authority control Chapels