The phrase a
cappella is among the most butchered and misunderstood musical terms. The
predominant, and
most "correct" spelling, is ...
a cappella - two words, two
"p's", two "l's."
A Cappella, A
Picky Definition
Musicologists
have fun debating the extent to which a cappella, 'in the style of the chapel,'
can
include
instrumental accompaniment. Some argue that early sacred a cappella
performances would
sometimes include
instruments that double a human voice part. So, the correct definition of a
cappella should
be something like 'singing without independent instrumental accompaniment.'
At Primarily A
Cappella, we are trying to popularize this style of music, so we like to keep it
simple.
a cappella - two words, two
"p's", two "l's."
singing without
instruments
A Capella?
Some musical
dictionaries indicate that the Italian a cappella is preferred over the Latin a
capella
(one
"p") yet both are technically correct. Why do those dictionaries
muddy the waters with two
spellings?
The phrase was
first used in Italian Catholic churches, where Latin was the language for
sacred text.
Thus, the Latin
spelling for 'in the style of the chapel' - a capella - has some historical
basis.
However, most
other musical terms - forte, accelerando, and many others - are Italian in
origin.
Since the Italian
spelling is more consistent with other musical terms, it has been used more
frequently.
Given the
difficulty of spelling our favorite style of music, we'd like to endorse the
simplicity of a
single spelling:
a cappella - two words, two
"p's", two "l's."
singing without
instruments
Acappella
Joining the two
Italian words together to make Acappella is a popular variation in the U.S. For
many
streetcorner
singing fans, Acappella means unaccompanied singing of 'fifties (and early
'sixties)
songs. There were
a series of recordings released in the early 1960's of Mid-Atlantic
unaccompanied
doo-wop groups called "The Best of Acappella." The liner notes on the
first LP
noted that
Acappella means "singing without music." In this matter we do tend
towards being picky -
instruments do
not alone music make! A cappella (or Acappella) singers make music while they
are
...
singing without
instruments
A more recent,
second meaning of Acappella has emerged. The Contemporary Christian group
Acappella is the
first formed by prolific songwriter Keith Lancaster. In the early 1990's he
added
Acappella Vocal
Band (now mostly known as AVB) and "Acappella: The Series" which uses
studio
singers (plus
LOTS of electronic help) to perform songs around specific themes. All of these
efforts
are now combined
in The Acappella Company. The good news is they have sold millions of
recordings and
have contributed greatly to the awareness of a cappella. The bad news is they
have
popularized a
spelling variation, and through the heavy use of electronically manipulated
voice (which
can sound like
any other synthesized instrument) have chipped away at the idea of ...
singing without
instruments.
A Capela
This spelling is
totally wrong, and yet has been used by those who should know better. The most
prominent
occurrence is on the re-release of first album by the Singers Unlimited.
Originally titled
"Try to
Remember," this very popular collection of vocal jazz arrangements by Gene
Puerling has no
doubt led some to
misspell, or at least question the correct spelling of ...
a cappella - two words, two
"p's", two "l's."
singing without
instruments
Occapella
The Manhattan
Transfer sang a song with this title on their debut, eponymous album.
Ironically, the
whole song is
accompanied, as are most of their songs by this group, so one can only guess at
the
intended meaning.
The lyrics "Everything's gonna be mellow, Listen while we sing it
occapella"
precede a refrain
of scat-like harmony (with the band receding into the background but still
audible).
Also ironically,
The Manhattan Transfer are often the group music lovers think of when they hear
the
phrase "a
cappella." Many people associate "close harmony" with "a
cappella," which certainly
makes a great
deal of sense. Popular twentieth century a cappella is characterized by
extensive use
of close harmony
- when voices separated by small intervals (seconds, thirds, fourths) sing the
same
rhythm and words.
The Manhattan Transfer sing great close harmony, but most of it includes
instrumental
accompaniment. Only a handful of their dozens of songs are performed a
cappella.
Oxapello? (yech!)
The Blenders open
their second album "From the Mouth" with a schtick by this title. On
this brief
cut, the group is
trying to discuss their new recording with an unenlightened agent, who keeps
referring to the
style of 'Oxapello.' Hopefully the next time you run into someone similarly confused,
you'll remember
to politely tell them:
a cappella - two words, two
"p's", two "l's."
singing without
instruments
A Cappello
On the
Trenchcoats' second album, "Your Joy," one of the fun originals is
"A Cappello Blues." The
phrase is sung
straight (that is, pronounced incorrectly) until the final chorus, when a
hesitating
voice-over says
"uh, isn't it, a cappella, with an "a"?" By now, hopefully,
you've got the correct
spelling emblazed
in your brain.
Why "Primarily" A
Cappella?
Singing without
instruments comes in many shapes and sizes. One of the attractions for artists
is the
nearly unlimited
pallet the voice provides. The same singer can sound sultry and sexy one
minute,
cold and
machine-like the next, then change to a trumpet, and morph again to a soft
harmonic
background
"ooooh."
In short, a
cappella enables "out of the box" music - art that defies singular
categorization.
It's not
surprising, then, that the artists who create breathtaking, out of the box a
cappella
performances
sometimes want to add instruments. The vocal pallet does have some limitations,
after
all. We endorse
artistic creativity, and so we include recordings that include accompanied
songs
along with a
cappella performances.
Another issue
debated among purists is whether a cappella allows for percussion
accompaniment.
While we think
the Nylons, Acappella and others should be allowed to describe themselves as
"singing
without instruments" without saying 'but with a drum track,' our
'primarily' moniker allows us
to step aside and
let customers decide.
Of course, it's
not always the artists that choose to add instruments. Recording industry
executives
by and large
don't appreciate the marketing potential of a cappella beyond the token ballad
cover.
So, many groups
performing luscious close harmony capable of standing on its own are told by
their
record labels in
no uncertain terms that the recordings will include instruments. Still, the
music is
appreciated by
the same fans who love pure a cappella ... and those fans are our customers, so
we
want to alert you
to great harmony wherever it's found!
Finally, some of
the best close harmony in vocal jazz and doo-wop is found on 100% accompanied
recordings. Many
a cappella aficionados are also fans of the Hi-Lo's, The Four Freshmen and
similar groups.
We want to be your one-stop shop!
In most of our
recording reviews, we mention how many of the songs are unaccompanied by
instruments so
that you won't be shocked.
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