Research suggests that singing and vocables may have been what early humans used to communicate before the invention of language.[4] The earliest piece ofsheet music is thought to have originated from times as early as 2000 BC,[5] while the earliest that has survived in its entirety is from the first century AD: a piece fromGreece called theSeikilos epitaph.[5]
A cappella music was originally used in religious music, especiallychurch music as well asanasheed andzemirot.Gregorian chant is an example of a cappella singing, as is the majority of secular vocal music from theRenaissance. Themadrigal, up until its development in the earlyBaroque into an instrumentally accompanied form, is also usually in a cappella form. ThePsalms note that some early songs were accompanied by string instruments, though Jewish and Early Christian music was largely a cappella;[6] the use of instruments has subsequently increased within both of these religions as well as in Islam.
Thepolyphony of Christian (predominantly Catholic) a cappella music began to develop in Europe around the 9th century AD with the practice oforganum, reaching its height between the 14th and 16th centuries with compositions by composers of theFranco-Flemish school (such asGuillaume Du Fay,Johannes Ockeghem, andJosquin des Prez).[7] The early a cappella polyphonies were sometimes doubled with other instruments, which were often wind or string instruments, or organs. By the 16th century, a cappellapolyphony had further developed, but gradually, thecantata began to take the place of a cappella forms.[7] Sixteenth-century a cappella polyphony, nonetheless, continued to influence church composers throughout this period and to the present day. Recent evidence has shown that some of the early pieces byPalestrina, such as those written for the Sistine Chapel, were intended to be accompanied by an organ "doubling" for some or all of the voices.[7]
Other composers that utilized the a cappella style, if only for the occasional piece, wereClaudio Monteverdi and hisLagrime d'amante al sepolcro dell'amata (A lover's tears at his beloved's grave), which was composed in 1610,[8] andAndrea Gabrieli when upon his death many choral pieces were discovered, one of which was in the unaccompanied style.[9] Learning from the preceding two composers,Heinrich Schütz utilized the a cappella style in numerous pieces; chief among these were the pieces in theoratorio style, which were traditionally performed during the Easter week and dealt with the religious subject matter of that week, such asthe Passion. Five of Schutz'sHistorien were Easter pieces, and of these the latter three, which dealt with the passion from three different viewpoints, those ofMatthew,Luke andJohn, were all done a cappella style. The parts of the crowd were sung while the solo parts which were the quoted parts from either Christ or the authors were performed in aplainchant.[10]
In the Byzantine Rite of theEastern Orthodox Church and theEastern Catholic Churches, the music performed in the liturgies is exclusively sung without instrumental accompaniment. Early Russianmusika which started appearing in the late 17th century, in what was known askhorovïye kontsertï (choral concertos) made a cappella adaptations of Venetian-styled pieces, such as the treatise,Grammatika musikiyskaya (1675), byNikolai Diletsky.[11] Divine Liturgies and Western Rite Masses composed by famous composers such asPeter Tchaikovsky,Sergei Rachmaninoff,Alexander Arkhangelsky, andMykola Leontovych are examples.
Instruments have divided Christendom since their introduction into worship. They were considered a Roman Catholic innovation, not widely practiced until the 18th century, and were opposed vigorously in worship by a number ofProtestant Reformers, includingMartin Luther,[12]Ulrich Zwingli,John Calvin,[13] andJohn Wesley.[14] Opponents ofmusical instruments in the Christian worship believe that such opposition is supported by the Christian scriptures and Church history.[15] There is no reference to instrumental music in early church worship in the New Testament, or in the worship of churches for the first six centuries.[16][17] Several reasons have been posited throughout church history for the absence of instrumental music in church worship.[nb 1]
Those who do not adhere to theregulative principle of interpreting Christian scripture, believe that limiting praise to the unaccompanied chant of the early church is not commanded in scripture, and that churches in any age are free to offer their songs with or without musical instruments. Those who subscribe to this interpretation believe that since the Christian scriptures never counter instrumental language with any negative judgment on instruments, opposition to instruments instead comes from an interpretation of history. There is no written opposition to musical instruments in any setting in the first century and a half of Christian churches (33–180 AD).[19] The use of instruments for Christian worship during this period is also undocumented. Toward the end of the 2nd century, Christians began condemning the instruments themselves.[20] Those who oppose instruments today believe these Church Fathers had a better understanding of God's desire for the church,[21] but there are significant differences between the teachings of these Church Fathers and Christian opposition to instruments today.
Modern Christians typically believe[citation needed] it is acceptable to play instruments or to attend weddings, funerals, banquets, etc., where instruments are heard playing religious music. The Church Fathers made no exceptions.[20] Since the New Testament never condemns instruments themselves, much less in any of these settings, authorEverett Ferguson wrote that "the church Fathers go beyond the New Testament in pronouncing a negative judgment on musical instruments."[22]
Written opposition to instruments in worship began near the turn of the 5th century.[23] Modern opponents of instruments typically do not make the same assessment of instruments as these writers,[nb 2] who argued that God had allowed David the "evil" of using musical instruments in praise.[26] While the Old Testament teaches that God specifically asked for musical instruments,[27] modern concern is for worship based on the New Testament.
Since "a cappella" singing brought a new polyphony (more than one note at a time) with instrumental accompaniment, it is not surprising that Protestant reformers who opposed the instruments (such as Calvin and Zwingli) also opposed the polyphony.[28] While Zwingli was destroying organs in Switzerland – Luther called him a fanatic – the Church of England was burning books of polyphony.[29]
While worship in theTemple in Jerusalem included musical instruments,[34] traditional Jewish religious services in the Synagogue, both before and after the last destruction of the Temple, did not include musical instruments[35] given the practice of scripturalcantillation.[36] The use of musical instruments is traditionally forbidden on the Sabbath out of concern that players would be tempted to repair (or tune) their instruments, which is forbidden on those days. (This prohibition has been relaxed in many Reform and some Conservative congregations.) Similarly, when Jewish families and larger groups sing traditional Sabbath songs known aszemirot outside the context of formal religious services, they usually do so a cappella, and Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrations on the Sabbath sometimes feature entertainment by a cappella ensembles. Duringthe Three Weeks musical instruments are prohibited. Many Jews consider a portion of the 49-day period of thecounting of the omer between Passover and Shavuot to be a time of semi-mourning and instrumental music is not allowed during that time.[37] This has led to a tradition of a cappella singing sometimes known assefirah music.[38]
The popularization of the Jewish chant may be found in the writings of the Jewish philosopherPhilo, born 20 BC. Weaving together Jewish and Greek thought, Philo promoted praise without instruments, and taught that "silent singing" (without even vocal chords) was better still.[39] This view parted with the Jewish scriptures, where Israel offered praise with instruments by God's own command[27] Theshofar is the only temple instrument still being used today in the synagogue,[40] and it is only used fromRosh ChodeshElul through the end ofYom Kippur. The shofar is used by itself, without any vocal accompaniment, and is limited to a very strictly defined set of sounds and specific places in the synagogue service.[41] However, silvertrumpets, as described in Numbers 10:1-18,[42] have been made in recent years and used in prayer services at theWestern Wall.[43]
Peter Christian Lutkin, dean of theNorthwestern University School of Music, helped popularize a cappella music in the United States by founding the Northwestern A Cappella Choir in 1906. The A Cappella Choir was "the first permanent organization of its kind in America."[44][45]
Movements in modern a cappella over the past century includebarbershop anddoo wop. TheBarbershop Harmony Society,Sweet Adelines International, and Harmony Inc. host educational events including Harmony University, Directors University, and the International Educational Symposium, and international contests and conventions, recognizing international championchoruses andquartets.
Many a cappella groups can be found in high schools and colleges. There are amateur Barbershop Harmony Society and professional groups that sing a cappella exclusively. Although a cappella is technically defined as singing without instrumental accompaniment, some groups use their voices to emulate instruments; others are more traditional and focus on harmonizing. A cappella styles range from gospel music to contemporary to barbershop quartets and choruses.
A cappella music was popularized between the late 2000s and the early to mid-2010s with media hits such as the 2009–2014 TV showThe Sing-Off and the musical comedy film seriesPitch Perfect.
Contemporary a cappella includes many vocal groups and bands who addvocal percussion orbeatboxing to create a pop/rock/gospel sound, in some cases very similar to bands with instruments. Examples of such professional groups includeStraight No Chaser,Pentatonix,The House Jacks,Rockapella,Mosaic,Home Free andM-pact. There also remains a strong a cappella presence within Christian music, as some denominations purposefully do not use instruments during worship. Examples of such groups areTake 6,Glad andAcappella. Arrangements of popular music for small a cappella ensembles typically include one voice singing the lead melody, one singing a rhythmic bass line, and the remaining voices contributing chordal orpolyphonic accompaniment.
A cappella can also describe the isolated vocal track(s) from amultitrack recording that originally included instrumentation. These vocal tracks may beremixed or put onto vinyl records for DJs, or released to the public so that fans can remix them. One such example is the a cappella release ofJay-Z'sBlack Album, whichDanger Mouse mixed withthe Beatles'White Album to createThe Grey Album.[53]
On their 1966 album titledAlbum,Peter, Paul and Mary included the song "Norman Normal". All the sounds on that song, both vocals and instruments, were created by Paul's voice, with no actual instruments used.[54]
In 2013, an artist by the nameSmooth McGroove rose to prominence with his style of a cappella music.[55] He is best known for his a cappella covers ofvideo game music tracks onYouTube.[56]
A cappella has been used as the sole orchestration for original works ofmusical theatre that have had commercial runsOff-Broadway (theatres in New York City with 99 to 500 seats) only four times. The first wasAvenue X which opened on 28 January 1994, and ran for 77 performances. It was produced byPlaywrights Horizons with book by John Jiler, music and lyrics by Ray Leslee. The musical style of the show's score was primarilydoo-wop as the plot revolved around doo-wop group singers of the 1960s.[59][60]
In 2001,The Kinsey Sicks, produced and starred in the critically acclaimedoff-Broadway hit,DRAGAPELLA! Starring the Kinsey Sicks at New York'sStudio 54. That production received a nomination for aLucille Lortel award as Best Musical and a Drama Desk nomination for Best Lyrics. It was directed by Glenn Casale with original music and lyrics by Ben Schatz.[61]
The fourth a cappella musical to appear Off-Broadway,In Transit, premiered October 5, 2010, and was produced byPrimary Stages with book, music, and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez, James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan, andSara Wordsworth. Set primarily in the New York City subway system its score features an eclectic mix of musical genres (including jazz, hip hop, Latin, rock, and country). In Transit incorporates vocal beat boxing into its contemporary a cappella arrangements through the use of a subway beat boxer character. Beat boxer and actorChesney Snow performed this role for the 2010 Primary Stages production.[64] According to the show's website, it is scheduled to reopen for an open-ended commercial run in the Fall of 2011. In 2011, the production received four Lucille Lortel Award nominations including Outstanding Musical, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League nominations, as well as five Drama Desk nominations including Outstanding Musical and won for Outstanding Ensemble Performance. In December 2016,In Transit became the first a cappella musical on Broadway.[65]
Barbershop music is one of several uniquely American art forms. The earliest reports of this style of a cappella music involved African Americans. The earliest documented quartets all began inbarber shops. In 1938, the first formal men's barbershop organization was formed, known as the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America (S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A), and in 2004 rebranded itself and officially changed its public name to theBarbershop Harmony Society (BHS). Today the BHS has about 22,000 members in approximately 800 chapters across the United States and Canada,[66][67] and the barbershop style has spread around the world with organizations in many other countries.[68] The Barbershop Harmony Society provides a highly organized competition structure for a cappella quartets and choruses singing in the barbershop style.
In 1945, the first formal women's barbershop organization, Sweet Adelines, was formed. In 1953, Sweet Adelines became an international organization, although it did not change its name toSweet Adelines International until 1991. The membership of nearly 25,000 women, all singing in English, includes choruses in most of the fifty United States as well as in Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the organization encompasses more than 1,200 registered quartets and 600 choruses.
In 1959, a second women's barbershop organization started as a break off from Sweet Adelines due to ideological differences. Based on democratic principles which continue to this day,Harmony, Inc. is smaller than its counterpart, but has an atmosphere of friendship and competition. With about 2,500 members in the United States and Canada, Harmony, Inc. uses the same rules in contest that the Barbershop Harmony Society uses. Harmony, Inc. is registered in Providence, Rhode Island.
The popularity of a cappella among high schools and amateurs was revived by television shows and movies such asGlee andPitch Perfect. High school groups may have conductors or student leaders who keep the tempo for the group, or beatboxers/vocal percussionists.
Since 2013, summer training programs have appeared, such as A Cappella Academy in Los Angeles, California (founded by Ben Bram, Rob Dietz, andAvi Kaplan) and Camp A Cappella in Dayton, Ohio (founded byDeke Sharon and Brody McDonald).[69] These programs teach about different aspects of a cappella music, including vocal performance, arranging, and beatboxing/vocal percussion.
ComposerDinesh Subasinghe became the firstSri Lankan to write a cappella pieces forSATB choirs. He wrote "The Princes of the Lost Tribe" and "Ancient Queen of Somawathee" for Menaka De Sahabandu and Bridget Helpe's choirs, respectively, based on historical incidents in ancient Sri Lanka.[74][75][76] Voice Print is also a professional a cappella music group inSri Lanka.[77]
The European a cappella tradition is especially strong in the countries around the Baltic and perhaps most so in Sweden as described byRichard Sparks in his doctoral thesisThe Swedish Choral Miracle in 2000.[78]
Swedish a cappella choirs have over the last 25 years won around 25% of the annual prestigiousEuropean Grand Prix for Choral Singing (EGP) that despite its name is open to choirs from all over the world (see list of laureates in the Wikipedia article on the EGP competition).
The reasons for the strong Swedish dominance are as explained by Richard Sparks manifold; suffice to say here that there is a long-standing tradition, an unusually large proportion of the populations (5% is often cited) regularly sing in choirs, the Swedish choral directorEric Ericson had an enormous impact on a cappella choral development not only in Sweden but around the world, and finally there are a large number of very popular primary and secondary schools ('music schools') with high admission standards based on auditions that combine a rigid academic regimen with high level choral singing on every school day, a system that started withAdolf Fredrik's Music School inStockholm in 1939 but has spread over the country.
The Sweet Nothings are one of the University of Exeter's eight a cappella groups. They are one of the oldest and most successful girl groups in the UK
A cappella has gained attention in the UK in recent years, with many groups forming at British universities by students seeking an alternative singing pursuit to traditional choral and chapel singing. This movement has been bolstered by organisations such asThe Voice Festival UK and the integration of the United Kingdom into theInternational Championship of Collegiate A Cappella.
All-women a cappella groups followed shortly, frequently as aparody of the men's groups: theSmiffenpoofs ofSmith College (1936), the Night Owls of Vassar College (1942), The Shwiffs of Connecticut College (The She-Whiffenpoofs, 1944), and The Chattertocks of Brown University (1951). A cappella groups exploded in popularity beginning in the 1990s, fueled in part by a change in style popularized by theTufts University Beelzebubs and the Boston University Dear Abbeys.[citation needed] The new style used voices to emulate modern rock instruments, includingvocal percussion/"beatboxing". Some larger universities now have multiple groups. Groups often join one another in on-campus concerts, such as the Georgetown Chimes' Cherry Tree Massacre, a 3-weekend a cappella festival held each February since 1975, where over a hundred collegiate groups have appeared, as well asInternational Quartet ChampionsThe Boston Common and the contemporary commercial a cappella groupRockapella. Co-ed groups have produced many up-and-coming and major artists, includingJohn Legend, an alumnus of the Counterparts at theUniversity of Pennsylvania,Sara Bareilles, an alumna of Awaken A Cappella atUniversity of California, Los Angeles,Mindy Kaling, an alumna of the Rockapellas atDartmouth College, andMira Sorvino, an alumna ofthe Harvard-Radcliffe Veritones ofHarvard College.
Each year, hundreds of collegiate a cappella groups submit their strongest songs in a competition to be on The Best of College A Cappella (BOCA), an album compilation of tracks from the best college a cappella groups around the world. The album is produced by Varsity Vocals –which also produces the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella – andDeke Sharon.). According to ethnomusicologist Joshua S. Dunchan, "BOCA carries considerable cache and respect within the field despite the appearance of other compilations in part, perhaps, because of its longevity and the prestige of the individuals behind it."[84]
Collegiate a cappella groups may also submit their tracks to Voices Only, a two-disc series released at the beginning of each school year. A Voices Only album has been released every year since 2005.[85]
In addition, from 2014 to 2019, female-identifying a cappella groups had the opportunity to send their strongest song tracks to the Women's A Cappella Association (WACA) for its annual best of women's a cappella album. WACA offered another medium for women's voices to receive recognition and released an album every year from 2014 to 2019, featuring female-identifying groups from across the United States.[86] The Women's A Cappella Association hosted seven annual festivals in California before ending operations in 2019.[87]
South Asian a cappella features a fusion of music from the Indian subcontinent, which places it in the category of South Asian fusion music. A cappella is gaining popularity among South Asians with the emergence of primarily Hindi-English college groups. The first South Asian a cappella group wasPenn Masala, an all-male group founded in 1996 at theUniversity of Pennsylvania.[88] The first co-ed South Asian a cappella was Anokha, from theUniversity of Maryland, formed in 2001. The first South Asian A Cappella competition was "Anahat," hosted by the Indus student organization atUC Berkeley. Maize Mirchi, the co-ed a cappella group from theUniversity of Michigan became the first South Asian group to advance to ICCA finals in 2023.[89]
The South Asian a cappella competitive circuit is governed by theAssociation of South-Asian A Cappella (ASA),[90] a non-profit organization formed in 2016. The competitive circuit consists of qualifier "bid" competitions all over the United States, as well as the national championship,All-American Awaaz.[91] The first winner of the championship title wasSwaram A Cappella atTexas A&M University, who won 1st place atAll-American Awaaz in 2017 in New York City[92] as well as in 2018 in Chicago.[93]Dhamakapella currently holds the record for most All-American Awaaz championships, winning three consecutive championships in 2022, 2023, and 2024.[94]
In addition to singing words, some a cappella singers also emulate instrumentation by reproducing instrumental sounds with theirvocal cords and mouth, often pitched using specialised pitch pipes. One of the earliest 20th century practitioners of this method wereThe Mills Brothers whose early recordings of the 1930s clearly stated on the label that all instrumentation was done vocally. More recently, "Twilight Zone" by2 Unlimited was sung a cappella to the instrumentation on the comedy television seriesTompkins Square. Another famous example of emulating instrumentation instead of singing the words is the theme song forThe New Addams Family series onFox Family Channel (nowFreeform). Groups such asVocal Sampling and Undivided emulate Latin rhythms a cappella. In the 1960s, the Swingle Singers used their voices to emulate musical instruments to Baroque and Classical music. Vocal artistBobby McFerrin is famous for his instrumental emulation. A cappella groupNaturally Seven recreates entire songs using vocal tones for every instrument.[95]
Beatboxing, more accurately known as vocal percussion, is a technique used in a cappella music popularized by thehip-hop community, whererap is often performed a cappella. The advent of vocal percussion added new dimensions to the a cappella genre and has become very prevalent in modern arrangements.[96] Beatboxing is performed often by shaping the mouth, making pops and clicks as pseudo-drum sounds.
^The absence of instrumental music is rooted in various hermeneutic principles (ways of interpreting the Bible) which determine what is appropriate for worship. Among such principles are theregulative principle of worship (Ulrich Zwingli),Sola scriptura (Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli), and the history ofhymn in "Christianity". Dispensationalism emphasizes the differences between the old (Law of Moses) and the new (Jesus and the Apostles) covenants, emphasizing that the majority of the practices from the Law of Moses were replaced by the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles. The absence of instrumental music in early church worship is significant given the abundance of Hebrew Bible references and commands to worship God with harp, lyre and cymbal. After several hundred years of Tabernacle worship without references to instrumental music, King David (c. 1500 BC) introduced musical instruments into Temple worship reportedly because of a commandment from God, complete with who was to sing, who was to play, and what instruments were to be used.[18]
^Rather than calling the use of instruments "evil", modern opposition typically uses terms like "unspiritual"[24] or an Old Testament "shadow".[25]
^"Finding Harmony in Nashville".tnecd.com. Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development. 13 July 2015. Retrieved2 December 2017.800 chapters across the U.S. and Canada
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