Acapella is singing only in voice, without musical accompaniment. It originated in the 17th century. For a long time it was a purely religious action. However, over time, the acapella goes beyond worship and becomes a common secular style and popular genre. Many Russian composers of the 20th century write choral (acapelic) works. In this century, a large number of ensembles sing a capella.
What is acapella?
Acapella is the singing of several voices (ensemble or choir) without musical accompaniment (accompaniment). It takes its origins in the 17th century. This term is often associated with the practice of papal worship. Acapella is also called the vocal part, written and sounding without instrumental accompaniment.
Initially widely used in church music and folk art. Then it became widespread in the works of Palestrina, the work of composers of the Dutch school.
On the other hand, acapella is a style that has been developed in madrigals, as well as secular singing.
Acapella as a style of professional choral art
Singing a capella as a style was firmly entrenched in the cult of polyphony at the end of the Middle Ages. The wonderful masters of the Dutch school reach their highest prosperity. A great contribution to its development was made by Benevoli, Palestrina, Scarlatti. It is important to pay attention to the fact that a capella singing in the 17-18 centuries was sometimes accompanied by a general bass or solo instruments. But then the performance returned without any accompaniment, which was highly appreciated.
In Orthodox churches, only a capella choral singing is used. Small musical accompaniment was permitted in the ancient churches of the East (Coptic, Malabar, Ethiopian). They allowed the use of both Asian and African instruments. In Russia, the famous composer A. Grechaninov advocated the introduction of instrumental accompaniment into worship. But this decision was rejected in 1917-1918 by the Local Council.
Singing a capella is often used in chamber choral music of 19th century composers. In Russian choral culture of the 20th century, the works of such composers as Rachmaninov, Taneev, Sviridov, Shostakovich, Shebalin, Davidenko, Chesnokov, Koval reached great heights. Noteworthy is the activity of the Court Singing Chapel, the Synodal Choir and many other groups. Today, a capella singing is in great demand in different countries.
Which of the composers turned to acapella?
As mentioned above, acapella is a collective singing (ensemble or choral), in which there is no accompaniment (instrumental accompaniment). Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Georgian folk art is full of songs of the acapelles warehouse. How a capella style originated in the Middle Ages. The highest heyday of the acapella came in the Renaissance. Among the composers of this time, it should be noted the Dutch polyphonists: J. Obrecht, J. Depre, G. Dyufai, J. Okegem, J. Benshua, O. Lasso. An outstanding role in the development of this style belongs to Palestrina (composer of the Roman school). In Russia, acapellary singing is originally found in cult music: the works of M. Berezovsky, D. Bortnyansky, A. Vedel. And at the end of the 19th century S. Rachmaninov, S. Taneyev, P. Chesnokov, A. Kastalsky and many others turned to the writing of a capella choirs. Soviet composers composed a huge number of choral works. These are D. Shostakovich, G. Sviridov, A. Davidenko, V. Salmanov, V. Shebalin, M. Koval and others.
How to make acapella?
In order for a human voice to sound beautiful and natural in a song, you need to record vocals in a quality manner. Basically, this can be done by every professional sound engineer using expensive (tube) equipment. But how to make an acapella without visiting the studio? There are special programs for this.
First, the vocals must be recorded in mono mode with certain parameters (16 bit / 44.1 kHz) and saved in a separate file in wav format. Then you need to properly process the record. To do this, open the file in any music editor and start processing:
- Level the vocal volume.
- Perform one of the time-consuming and complex tasks - use the equalizer.
- Take a pan.
- Make “warming” vocals.
- The final stage will be the reverb and overlay del.
Here are some simple ways to process the acapella.
Ten contemporary bands singing a cappella
Many people think that only in churches they sing a cappella. However, this is a misconception. There are a huge number of excellent teams with their fans. Today, a cappella singing is very popular and is presented in a wide variety of musical genres: folk music, jazz, mass-popular, rhythm and blues, rock music and so on. In this regard, interested listeners are often looking for acapella notes. In addition, "university" groups singing a cappella are very popular in the United States.
Here are some modern bands:
- The ensemble "Male Style" - "Oh, in the meadow, in the meadow."
- Pikkardіyska Tertsiya - "Garden of the angelic writings."
- Barbatuques - Baiana.
- JUKEBOX TRIO - So, Let Me Know.
- Van Canto - The Mission (Official).
- Rockapella - Shambala.
- Sweet honey in the rock - Ella's Song.
- Rajaton - Joululaulu.
- The Glue - “El Topo”.
- The Puppini Sisters, "Jilted" (dir: Alex de Campi).
Conclusion
Thus, a cappella is singing in a voice without accompaniment (instrumental accompaniment). Usually it is performed by musical groups - a vocal ensemble or choir. Acapella appeared in the 17th century. Originally used exclusively in church music. However, over time, it became not only applied in secular singing, but also became a separate style. Many composers turned to the writing of a cappella choirs. Today, such singing has not lost its popularity. On the contrary, many contemporary groups sing in such a manner that gives them special artistic value.