Relay choir
The relay choir is a special form of the choir room in a church, in which the middle main choir is accompanied by side choirs that are shortened ("staggered").
history
In each church there was initially only one altar , around which the congregation gathered to celebrate Holy Mass . Especially in monasteries , however, the desire for several altars in one church quickly emerged in order to give the numerous priests in the order the opportunity to comply with the requirement for their own daily mass celebrations. The fulfillment of this requirement as well as the desire for seclusion led to the construction of chapels within the church.
The situation was similar in the cathedrals . Many priests were not involved in pastoral care there, but in administrative work. Since they did not have any "own" churches to celebrate mass, they were dependent on additional altars in the bishop's church.
Throughout the history of art, various forms of how and where these chapels are placed have evolved. In the staggered choir, the choir (possibly with the apse ) of the church is flanked by further, smaller side choirs (possibly with their own apses). This form was probably tried out for the first time during the construction of the second church (948–981) of the great Abbey of Cluny in Burgundy and was popular throughout Europe due to the great influence of this famous abbey.
The only Benedictine relay choir in Germany was located in the Thalbürgel monastery church and can only be seen today in its foundations. There are several examples among the German churches of the Cistercian Order, including Bronnbach Monastery . Such a choir is also being reconstructed for the Premonstratensian Church in Rommersdorf. The Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome also has a relay choir .
You can also define the term further and include choirs that have three apses that are on the same line, but are unequal in size and therefore "staggered" and with which additional apses on the transept often create the impression of staggering in depth. There are more examples of this type of Benedictine order in Germany, such as the Schwarzach Minster on the Upper Rhine or the Imperial Cathedral in Königslutter .