I love good a cappella singing. For those of you who are neither musical nor Italian, a cappella is an Italian phrase meaning “in the manner of the chapel.” And if you are not aware of how music was performed in Italian chapels, what a cappella means to the modern musician is “unaccompanied.”
No organ. No piano. No violins. No trumpets. No flutes. No saxophones. No big brass band. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
Unaccompanied.
Also, for the younger generation, absolutely no guitars. No drums. No electronic keyboards. No, not one.
What is left?
Human voices. What a concept.
Snowbrush is now saying, “just like in the Church of Christ back in Mississippi, which I left for a great many reasons, none of which have to do with a cappella singing.”
The thing about a cappella singing is that when it’s good it is really good, and when it’s bad it is really bad.
I found some that, in my humble opinion, is really good.
Here is a Mennonite choir called Altar of Praise Chorale singing in 2010 a song called “Who Am I?” that was written back in 1965 by a man named Rusty Goodman (3:43).
They may not have super-professional, highly-trained voices (in the operatic sense), but they know how to do a cappella. They blend. Their consonants are impeccable. They stay on pitch. Regardless of what you think of the lyrics, give it a listen.
If you find that you like neither the words nor the music, just enjoy the scenery.
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<b>Some of my earliest memories include...</b>
Seeing my mother wash the outside of the windows in our third-floor apartment at 61 Larch St. in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, by sittin...
What a wonderful and heart-felt tribute. What more can we do to say thank you, than be and do the best we can?
ReplyDeleteAn uplifting start to my day. Thank you Robert dear.
robert dear, i also like the capcrappella voices{no really} a friend of rick perry says we mormons are not christian >><just a cult
ReplyDeleteI thought Mennonite was a kind of shoe polish. Lovely singing by the company choir. Bet their shoes were gleaming.
ReplyDeleteI would like to thank three amazing readers for three unique comments! After Katherine, though, it was all downhill.
ReplyDeletep.s., i had my first practice in the choir for Handel's Messiah<><>,.that score is very very difficult><<>i really had no ideamy son is trying to help mebut as you know i am very old and it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks and how to fetch
ReplyDeleteWhen I hear great acapella it makes me wonder why accompaniments were ever invented. Love to sing acapella, too.
ReplyDeletea cult according to my dictionary is a group of dedicated people who are spiritually goal oriented and intensely dedicated to a principal or doctrine including christ and work tireously in connection wherewithall<><>look it up
ReplyDeleteJeannelle (of Iowa), it is my considered opinion that accompaniments were invented to take attention away from instrumental soloists. :)
ReplyDeletePutz, so are you (a) upset at Mormons being referred to as a cult, (b) happy after looking up the definition of cult in your dictionary, or (c) concentrating on learning your part in Handel's Messiah? Oh, and are you a tenor or a bass?
I love church choirs especially the orthodox ones. They really hit the spot where souls are concerned.
ReplyDelete