Line #7 Main/DramaticChoirNumber


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dramaticchoirtropeimage.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Hard to get more dramatic than a HorribleHistoryMetal concert, a religious ecstasy, and a hopeful stand with a choir.[[note]]Top to bottom:Music/{{Sabaton}}'s "The Great War", Music/{{Madonna}}'s "Music/LikeAPrayer", and Music/TinaTurner's "We Don't Need Another Hero ([[Film/MadMaxBeyondThunderdome Thunderdome]])"[[/note]]]]
3	Due to the physics of how waveforms work, similar sounds have a tendency to reinforce each other. Thus, having many people sing a song in unison reinforces the song and makes it more dramatic. In other words, a powerful choir can be used for the musical equivalent of ChewingTheScenery.
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5	In works where the music is not generally choral, a sudden burst of song can add to a dramatic moment.
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7	Contrast EtherealChoir, where the choir sings in the background to lend an ethereal air to the scene, or a CherubicChoir, which is intended to sound lighthearted and innocent, or GospelChoirsAreJustBetter, to make the song more soulful. Often overlaps with OminousLatinChanting. Compare OrchestralBombing and OminousPipeOrgan. Compare OneWomanWail, when a single person sings a melancholic tune in the background, and SelfBackingVocalist if the lead singer(s) provide their vocals as the choir.
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9	----
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11	!!Music examples:
12	[[foldercontrol]]
13
14	[[folder:Heavy Metal]]
15	* Music/{{Sabaton}} commonly uses choirs in its songs, especially for emphasis on the chorus.
16	** Early on, before they had the resources to hire a professional choir, the band members often recorded a three-part harmony for particular songs, starting with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVHyl0P_P-M "Primo Victoria"]].
17	** For the European portion of the Great Tour, Sabaton had [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPbaLrbU6Ho a 21-member male choir onstage with them]], dressed as UsefulNotes/WorldWarI soldiers of all armies in the conflict. The page picture is from their headlining show at Wacken Open Air 2019, during the chorus of "The Price of a Mile": by the end of that concert, with the addition of several former band members on the right-hand stage, a total of 28 people were singing the choruses.
18	** Several parts of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um5R_PH7Jek "Livgardet"]] use a multi-part male-fronted choir for extra dramatics.
19	[[/folder]]
20
21	[[folder:Pop]]
22	* Music/{{ABBA}}'s "I Have a Dream" has a children's choir singing the last verse and chorus of the song. The same is done with Music/{{Westlife}}'s cover of the song.
23	* Towards the end of "God is a Woman" by Music/ArianaGrande, there is a passionate choir adding to the "goddess" theme.
24	* Music/NatashaBedingfield: A choir begins to sing the last pre-chorus of "Unwritten" before she joins in at the chorus. A choir is also shown for [[AlternateMusicVideo the US version of the music video]].
25	* Music/CelineDion, the live version of "Let's Talk About Love" on her eponymous tour has a children's choir or a group of children from charities joining her singing the song.
26	* Music/PatBenatar's "We Belong" has a children's choir join in on the third chorus.
27	* Music/{{Madonna}}'s "Like a Prayer" has her singing alongside a gospel choir, first in "oohs" at the beginning of the singing, then [[InvokedTrope invoked]] for the second chorus and the rest of the song.
28	-->''It's like a dream\
29	No end and no beginning\
30	You're here with me\
31	It's like a dream\
32	Let the choir sing''
33	* Music/SamSmith: "Stay With Me" has a mellow gospel choir joining the chorus about pleading for their fling to stay for the night. Smith created the choir by overdubbing themself multiple times to give the illusion of a large volume of people singing at once.
34	[[/folder]]
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36	[[folder:Rap]]
37	* Music/{{Coolio}}: "Gangsta's Paradise" is backed by a short, looping choir riff. The song is a VillainousLament, so the choir helps give it a mournful feel.
38	* Music/WeirdAlYankovic's "Amish Paradise", a parody of "Gangsta's Paradise" is also backed by a short, looping choir riff, with the choir leaving in disgust at the end.
39	[[/folder]]
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41	[[folder:R&B]]
42	* Music/RKelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" has a choir singing the last part of the {{Truck Drivers Gear Change}}d chorus.
43	[[/folder]]
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45	[[folder:Rock]]
46	* Music/{{Paramore}}'s "Ain't It Fun" has a gospel choir the repeating bridge of the song.
47	* Music/PinkFloyd: In [[Music/TheWall "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)"]], the second iteration of the verse and chorus is performed by [[KidsRock a choir of children]] from Islington Green School, representing students rebelling against abusive teachers like the ones that torment Pink in the album's narrative. The choir was inserted by producer Bob Ezrin to extend what was originally an interlude into a potential single; Ezrin had them record their parts in secret to avoid drawing suspicion from their teachers.
48	* Music/TheRollingStones: A choir sings the first two lines of "You Can't Always Get What You Want", then disappears until the very end.
49	* Music/{{Scorpions}}: "Moment of Glory" has the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and a children's choir to complement the optimistic rock melody.
50	* Music/TinaTurner: "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" has a children's choir singing the last part of the song after the saxophone solo.
51	[[/folder]]
52	----
53	!!Other examples:
54	[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
55	* ''WesternAnimation/CatsDontDance'': The DarkReprise of "Big and Loud" is mainly accompanied by a choir and OminousPipeOrgan. In the song, Darla Dimple shows her BitchInSheepsClothing side as she sings about how she's going to ruin the heroes' careers.
56	[[/folder]]
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58	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
59	* ''Film/{{Clockwise}}'': When things are seeming more and more hopeless for Pat and Brian, and their car is driving through a field, there is a sudden burst of choral music.
60	* ''Film/Deadpool2'': Parodied during the fight with Juggernaut at the climax, where the soundtrack becomes [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjyMPwhSVe8 a choral number]] akin to a video game boss battle theme--except the lyrics are variations on [[OhCrap "Holy shitballs!"]]
61	* ''Film/EskimoDay'': In the latter half of the film, choral music is used to reinforce some emotionally charged scenes, and is used in the ending credits.
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder: Literature]]
65	* In ''Literature/TheShipWho Sang'', [[SapientShip Helva]] discovers that another [[SapientShip brainship]], Lia, has taken control of the CultColony of Alioth after the cultists abduct Helva's [[BrainsAndBrawn brawn]], Kira. The cultists are a ReligionOfEvil and Lia demands HumanSacrifice, and Kira is a DeathSeeker who starts to just go along with them. Then Helva finds that the hallucinogen-addled cultists will repeat anything "Lia" says - so to reach Kira, she starts to sing a ProtestSong that sarcastically longs for death. The cultists chant along dutifully, amplifying the message. Kira, who was dedicated to such songs before she became a DeathSeeker, is shaken out of her trance.
66	[[/folder]]
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68	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
69	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoVLhUxhdSw The Rings of Akhaten]]", The Doctor discovers that young Merry Gejelh is to be offered as a sacrifice to keep the god of Akhaten from awakening. The Doctor and Clara save her from the withered mummy that they think is being worshipped, only to realize that it was merely the "alarm clock" and that the star at the heart of the system is the god, and that it has awakened. The Doctor moves Clara and Merry to relative safety, then returns to the temple to confront the god, known as "Grandfather". Merry, hoping to support the Doctor, leads the various races gathered together in a choral performance of "The Long Song" to help bolster him with the psychic resonance, as The Doctor offers up his memories to the stellar deity.
70	* The series finale of ''Series/GameOfThrones'' ends with a new version of the series' title theme, but with a full choral section added.
71	[[/folder]]
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73	[[folder:Video Games]]
74	* The soundtrack of ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' involves a choir composed of [[https://metalinjection.net/video/watch-doom-eternal-enlists-static-x-aborted-black-crown-initate-members-for-soundtrack members of several heavy metal bands]], including Music/StaticX, Music/BlackCrownInitiate, Music/{{Aborted}}, and Music/TenggerCavalry.
75	* The soundtrack of ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' has the "barbarian choir" on many songs, particularly the theme song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsnRQJxanVM "Dragonborn"]] which is sung in the game's [[{{conlang}} dragon language]].
76	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': Sephiroth's theme song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSXj_FjjMAw "One-Winged Angel"]], features a choir doing OminousLatinChanting as the backdrop to the game's final boss battle.
77	* ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'': The Godmaster DLC added choir-based musics for fights in the new BossRush, including new renditions of Hornet and the Mantis Lords' themes.
78	* ''VideoGame/{{Klonoa}}'': "Facade and Blade," Joka's battle theme in ''[[VideoGame/KlonoaDoorToPhantomile Door to Phantomile]]'' and the remake, is a FreakyElectronicMusic theme with strings, but there is a VariableMix that adds a choir when Joka goes OneWingedAngel.
79	* ''VideoGame/{{OMORI}}'': [=PerfectHeart=]'s battle theme "Tee-Hee Time" starts with a choir before moving to a childish giggling that transitions the song into a high-energy track that wouldn't be out of place in a RhythmGame.
80	* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
81	** ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii'': The phase 2 music for the final boss, [[spoiler:Giant Bowser]], is an epic theme with a choir melody and orchestral accompaniment.
82	** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'': Bowser's orchestral battle theme has a VariableMix that adds a choir, making the song more intense.
83	[[/folder]]

Context Main / DramaticChoirNumber