IN: A choir () (also known as a quire, chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. 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 and face gestures.

During the Renaissance, sacred choral music was the principal type of formally notated music in Western Europe. Throughout the era, hundreds of masses and motets (as well as various other forms) were composed for a cappella choir, though there is some dispute over the role of instruments during certain periods and in certain areas. Some of the better-known composers of this time include Guillaume Dufay, Josquin des Prez, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, John Dunstable, and William Byrd; the glories of Renaissance polyphony were choral, sung by choirs of great skill and distinction all over Europe. Choral music from this period continues to be popular with many choirs throughout the world today.  The madrigal, a partsong conceived for amateurs to sing in a chamber setting, originated at this period. Although madrigals were initially dramatic settings of unrequited-love poetry or mythological stories in Italy, they were imported into England and merged with the more dancelike balletto, celebrating carefree songs of the seasons, or eating and drinking. To most English speakers, the word madrigal now refers to the latter, rather than to madrigals proper, which refers to a poetic form of lines consisting of seven and eleven syllables each.  The interaction of sung voices in Renaissance polyphony influenced Western music for centuries. Composers are routinely trained in the "Palestrina style" to this day, especially as codified by the 18c music theorist Johann Joseph Fux. Composers of the early 20th century also wrote in Renaissance-inspired styles. Herbert Howells wrote a Mass in the Dorian mode entirely in strict Renaissance style, and Ralph Vaughan Williams's Mass in G minor is an extension of this style. Anton von Webern wrote his dissertation on the Choralis Constantinus of Heinrich Isaac and the contrapuntal techniques of his serial music may be informed by this study.
QUESTION: Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?
IN: Steeleye Span are an English folk rock band formed in 1969. Still active today, along with Fairport Convention, they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat". They had four Top 40 albums and achieved a certified gold record with sales of "All Around My Hat". Throughout their history, Steeleye Span have seen many personnel changes.

With their star now conspicuously ascendant, the band brought in producer Mike Batt (best known for his musical association with the Wombles and, more recently, Katie Melua) to work on their eighth album, All Around My Hat, and their biggest success would come with the release of the title track as a single - it reached number 5 in the UK Charts in late 1975. The single was also released in other European countries and gave them a breakthrough in the Netherlands and Germany.  Other well-known tracks on the album included "Black Jack Davy" (sampled by rappers Goldie Lookin Chain on their track "The Maggot") and the rocky "Hard Times of Old England". But while All Around My Hat was the height of the band's commercial success, the good times were not to last long. Despite touring almost every year since 1975, they have not had another hit single, nor any success in the album chart since the late 1970s.  The follow-up album Rocket Cottage (1976), also produced by Batt, proved to be a commercial flop, despite having much in common musically with its immediate predecessor. The opening track, "London", was penned by Rick Kemp as a follow-up to "All Around My Hat", in response to a request from the record label that Kemp describes as "we'll have another one of those, please", and released as a single. The song failed to make the UK Chart, in complete contrast to "All Around My Hat", despite having much in common with its predecessor - a 12/8 time signature, upbeat tempo, solo verses and full harmony chorus. Rocket Cottage also included experimental tracks "Fighting for Strangers" (with sparse vocals singing concurrently in a variety of keys) and, on the final track, excerpts of studio banter between the band members and a seemingly impromptu rendition of "Camptown Races", in which Prior gets the lyrics wrong.  But while their seventh album, Commoners Crown, was one of their most interesting and varied, including the epic "Long Lankin", the advent of punk saw the mainstream market turning away from folk rock almost overnight, heralding a downturn in commercial fortunes for the band. However, as a thank you to their committed fans (and also to possibly to garner some publicity for their underperforming album), Steeleye Span showered attendees of a November 1976 concert in London, England, with the then-equivalent of US$13,600 in British pound notes. The unannounced idea was Maddy Prior's, and--remarkably--no-one was injured in the rush to grab the falling bills. Indeed, contemporary press reports indicated that it took some time for the crowd to even realise what was happening. Thanks to their connection with Mike Batt, band members appeared in Womble costumes on Top of the Pops, performing the Wombles hit "Superwomble".
QUESTION:
What is important about the Mike Batt era?