A cappella (Italian for "in the manner of the church" or "in the manner of the chapel",^[1] also see gospel music and choir) music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It contrasts with cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato style. In the 19th century a renewed interest in Renaissance polyphony coupled with an ignorance of the fact that vocal parts were often doubled by instrumentalists led to the term coming to mean unaccompanied vocal music.^[2] Today, a cappella also includes sample/loop "vocal only" productions by producers like Jimmy Spice Curry, Teddy Riley, Björk, Imogen Heap, Wyclef Jean and others.

Religious traditions[link]

A cappella music originally was, and still often is, used in religious music, especially church music as well as anasheed and zemirot. Gregorian chant is an example of a cappella singing, as is the majority of secular vocal music from the Renaissance. The madrigal, up until its development in the early Baroque into an instrumentally-accompanied form, is also usually in a cappella form. Jewish and Christian music were originally a cappella, and this tradition has existed continuously in both of these religions as well as in Islam.

Christian[link]

This section's factual accuracy is disputed. Please help to ensure that disputed facts are reliably sourced. See the relevant discussion on the talk page.

The polyphony of Christian a cappella music began to develop in Europe around the late 15th century. The early a cappella polyphonies may have had an accompanying instrument, although this instrument would merely double the singers' parts and was not independent. By the 16th century, a cappella polyphony had further developed, but gradually, the cantata began to take the place of a cappella forms.^[3] 16th century a cappella polyphony, nonetheless, continued to influence church composers throughout this period and to the present day. Such is seen in the life of Palestrina becoming a major influence on Bach, most notably in the aforementioned Mass in B Minor.

Eastern Orthodox Christianity[link]

In Eastern Europe, the music performed in the Eastern Orthodox cathedrals and monasteries is exclusively sung without music. Bishop Kallistos Ware says, "The service is sung, even though there may be no choir... In the Orthodox Church today, as in the early Church, singing is unaccompanied and instrumental music is not found."^[4] Liturgies and masses composed by famous composers such as Peter Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Alexander Arkhangelsky, and Mykola Leontovych are fine examples of this,

Opposition to instruments in worship[link]

Present-day Christian religious bodies known for conducting their worship services without musical accompaniment include some Presbyterian churches devoted to the regulative principle of worship, Old Regular Baptists, Primitive Baptists, Plymouth Brethren, Churches of Christ, the Old German Baptist Brethren, the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church and the Amish, Old Order Mennonites and Conservative Mennonites. Certain high church services and other musical events in liturgical churches (such as the Roman Catholic Mass and the Lutheran Divine Service) may be a cappella, a practice remaining from apostolic times. Many Mennonites also conduct some or all of their services without instruments. Sacred Harp, a type of religious folk music, is an a cappella style of religious singing, but is more often sung at singing conventions than at church services.

Opponents of musical instruments in the Christian worship believe that such opposition is supported by the New Testament and Church history. The New Testament verses typically referenced are Matthew 26:30; Acts 16:25; Romans 15:9; 1 Corinthians 14:15; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 2:12, 13:15; James 5:13, which reveal a command for all Christians to sing.^[5]

There is no reference to instrumental music in the worship of the New Testament or the worship of churches for the first six centuries.^[6] That being said, the reason for such absence is highly debated, though several reasons have been put forth throughout church history.^{[nb 1]} The absence of instrumental music in New Testament worship is significant given the abundance of Old Testament references and commands. After several hundred years of Tabernacle worship without instrumental music, King David introduced musical instruments into Temple worship based upon a commandment from God. God commanded who was to sing, who was to play, and what instruments were to be used, as seen in 2 Chronicles 29:25–29.

Unlike the Israelite worship assembly, which was only able to look on during Temple worship as the Levitical Priest sang, played, and offered animal sacrifices, in the New Testament, all Christians are commanded to sing praises to God. This leaves those opposed to instrumental music in worship with the understanding that if God wanted instrumental music in New Testament worship, he would have commanded not just singing, but singing and playing like he did in the Old Testament. Though God commanded instruments to be used in Temple worship, and the daily life of Israel, the first recorded example of a musical instrument in Roman Catholic worship was an organ introduced by Pope Vitalian into a cathedral in Rome around 670.^{[7][nb 2]} Thus, over time, the expression "a cappella" (Italian for "in the manner of the chapel") came to mean exclusively vocal music in contradistinction to the spreading use of the organ in cathedrals.

Instruments have divided Christendom since their introduction into worship. They were considered a Catholic innovation, not widely practiced until the 18th century, and were opposed vigorously in worship by a number of Protestant Reformers, including Martin Luther (1483–1546),^[8] John Calvin (1509–1564)^[9] and John Wesley (1703–1791).^[10][11] The fact that Christendom has periodically grafted instrumental music into the worship service probably obscures, for contemporary adherents, the long, general and conscientious teaching of a cappella. In Sir Walter Scott's The Heart of Midlothian, for example, the heroine, Jeanie Deans, a Scottish Presbyterian, writes to her father about the church situation she has found in England (bold added):

The folk here are civil, and, like the barbarians unto the holy apostle, have shown me much kindness; and there are a sort of chosen people in the land, for they have some kirks without organs that are like ours, and are called meeting-houses, where the minister preaches without a gown.^[12]

Acceptance of instruments in worship[link]

An alternate viewpoint is that limiting praise to the unaccompanied chant of the early church is not commanded in scripture, and that the churches in any age are free to offer their songs with or without musical instruments.

Since the New Testament never counters this instrumental language with any negative judgment on instruments, opposition to instruments instead comes from an interpretation of history. It is striking that there is no written opposition to musical instruments in any setting in the 1st century and a half of the churches (including scripture).^[13] Toward the end of the 2nd century, however, Christians began condemning the actual instruments themselves.^[14] Those who oppose instruments today believe that emerging opposition of these Church Fathers demonstrates a better understanding of God's desire, but there are significant differences between the teachings of the Church Fathers and Christian opposition to instruments today.

• Modern Christians typically believe it is acceptable to play instruments or to attend weddings, funerals, banquets, etc., where instruments are heard. The Church Fathers made no exceptions.^[15] Since the New Testament never condemns instruments themselves, much less in any of these settings, it is conceded that “the church Fathers go beyond the New Testament in pronouncing a negative judgment on musical instruments.”^[16]
• Written opposition to instruments in worship began near the turn of the 5th century.^[17] Modern opponents of instruments do not make the same assessment of instruments as these writers,^[18] who argued that God had allowed David the “evil” of using musical instruments in praise.^[19] Contrary to their teaching, the Old Testament scripture shows that God specifically asked for instruments rather than merely tolerating an evil.^[20]

Since “a cappella” singing brought a new polyphony with instrumental accompaniment, it is not surprising that Protestant reformers who opposed the instruments (such as Calvin and Zwingli) also opposed the polyphony.^[21] While Zwingli was burning organs in Switzerland – Luther called him a fanatic – the Church of England was burning books of polyphony.^[22]

Jewish[link]

While services in the Temple in Jerusalem included musical instruments (2 Chronicles 29:25–27), traditional Jewish religious services in the Synagogue, both before and after the destruction of the Temple, did not include musical instruments^[23] given the practice of scriptural cantillation.^[24] The use of musical instruments is traditionally forbidden on the Sabbath out of concern that players would be tempted to repair 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 as zemirot 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. During the Three Weeks use of musical instruments is traditionally prohibited. Many Jews consider a portion of the 49-day period of the counting of the omer between Passover and Shavuot to be a time of semi-mourning and instrumental music is not allowed during that time.^[25] This has led to a tradition of a cappella singing sometimes known as sefirah music.^[26]

The popularization of the Jewish chant may be found in the writings of the Jewish philosopher Philo, born 20 BCE. Weaving together Jewish and Greek thought, Philo promoted praise without instruments, and taught that "silent singing" (without even vocal chords) was better still.^[27] This view parted with the Jewish scriptures, where Israel offered praise with instruments by God's own command (e.g.: 2 Chronicles 29:25). The shofar or keren (horn) is the only temple instrument still being used today in the synagogue,^[28] and it is only used from Rosh Chodesh Elul through the end of Yom 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.^{[citation needed]}

Muslim[link]

Many Muslim musicians also perform a form of a cappella music called nasheed or Tawasheeh. Some well known composers in the western world include Kamal Uddin, Labbayk, Abdullah Rolle, Naseeha amongst others. Some Nasheed singers avoid instruments in background due to the opinion of certain scholars that their use is prohibited.

In the United States[link]

Peter Christian Lutkin, dean of the Northwestern 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."^[29][30]

A strong and prominent a cappella tradition was begun in the midwest part of the United States in 1911 by F. Melius Christiansen, a music faculty member at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. The St. Olaf College Choir was established as an outgrowth of the local St. John's Lutheran Church, where Christiansen was organist and the choir was composed at least partially of students from the nearby St. Olaf campus. The success of the ensemble was emulated by other regional conductors, and a rich tradition of a cappella choral music was born in the region at colleges like Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota), Augustana College (Rock Island, Illinois), Wartburg College (Waverly, Iowa), Luther College (Decorah, Iowa), Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, Minnesota), Augustana College (Sioux Falls, South Dakota), and Augsburg College (Minneapolis, Minnesota). The choirs typically range from 40 to 80 singers and are recognized for their efforts to perfect blend, intonation, phrasing and pitch in a large choral setting.

Major movements in modern a cappella over the past century include Barbershop and doo wop. The Barbershop 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 champion choruses and quartets.

In the 1950s several recording groups, notably The Hi-Los and the Four Freshmen, introduced complex jazz harmonies to a cappella performances. The King's Singers are credited with promoting interest in small-group a cappella performances in the 1960s. In 1983 an a cappella group known as The Flying Pickets had a Christmas 'number one' in the UK with a cover of Yazoo's (known in the US as Yaz) "Only You". A cappella music attained renewed prominence from the late 1980s onward, spurred by the success of Top 40 recordings by artists such as The Manhattan Transfer, Bobby McFerrin, Huey Lewis and the News, All-4-One, The Nylons, Backstreet Boys and Boyz II Men.^{[citation needed]}

Recording artists[link]

Contemporary a cappella includes many vocal groups and bands who add vocal percussion or beatboxing to create a pop/rock sound, in some cases very similar to bands with instruments. Examples of such professional groups include The House Jacks, Rockapella, Mosaic (vocal band), M-pact, and InsideOut. 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 are Take 6, Glad and Acappella. 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 or polyphonic accompaniment.

A cappella can also describe the practice of using just the vocal track(s) from a multitrack, instrumental recording to be remixed or put onto vinyl records for DJs. Artists sometimes release the vocal tracks of their popular songs so that fans can remix them. One such example is the a cappella release of Jay-Z's Black Album, which Danger Mouse mixed with The Beatles' White Album to create The Grey Album.

A cappella's growth is not limited to live performance, with hundreds of recorded a cappella albums produced over the past decade. As of December 2006, the Recorded A Cappella Review Board (RARB) had reviewed over 660 a cappella albums since 1994, and its popular discussion forum had over 900 users and 19,000 articles.

A cappella exists in Japan, with groups such as the Gospellers performing. In USA in July 1943, as a result of the American Federation of Musicians boycott of US recording studios, the a cappella vocal group The Song Spinners had a best-seller with "Comin' In On A Wing And A Prayer". A South-Korean group named Dong Bang Shin Ki (DBSK) or Tong Vfang Xien Qi (TVXQ) was formed in 2003, and currently holds the world record for the biggest fanclub.^{[citation needed]}

Recording artist Brandy Norwood included a song on her 2008 album Human titled "A Capella (Something's Missing)". Brandy uses her voice for background music in this song, showing her capabilities of using her voice as an instrument. No instruments are used, except for maybe an electric guitar, though fans are claiming it to be her synthesized voice.^{[citation needed]}

In 2010, American dance recording artist Kelis released a song called "Acapella" as the first single from her album Flesh Tone. The song is not actually performed a cappella, but rather, explains that before her son was born, her life was without music.

Composer Dinesh Subasinghe became the first Sri Lankan to write a cappella pieces for SATB choirs. He wrote "The Princes of the Lost Tribe" and "Ancient Queen of Somawathee" for Menaka De Shabandu and Bridget Halpe's choirs, respectively, based on historical incidents in ancient Sri Lanka.^[31][32][33]

In Australia, there is a growing trend bringing people back to singing thanks to TV shows like Glee. As a result, a cappella singing is once again growing, with a handful of internationally acclaimed groups (The Idea Of North, Suade, Coco's Lunch, Akasa), and a growing local scene. In 2010, the Australian a cappella Quartet The Idea of North was nominated for an ARIA for their seventh studio album, "Feels Like Spring",^[34] bringing a cappella music back into pop culture. Like the USA, Australia has an a cappella association (Vocal Australia) who organizes events, education and resources for the vocal music community.

Musical theater[link]

A cappella has been used as the sole orchestration for original works of Musical Theater that have had commercial runs Off-Broadway (theaters in New York City with 99 to 500 seats) only three times. The first was Avenue X which opened on 28 January 1994 and ran for 77 performances. It was produced by Playwrights Horizons with book by John Jiler, music and lyrics by Ray Leslee. The musical style of the show's score was primarily Doo-Wop as the plot revolved around Doo-Wop group singers of the 1960s.^[35][36]

In 2001, The Kinsey Sicks, produced and starred in the critically acclaimed off-Broadway hit, "DRAGAPELLA! Starring the Kinsey Sicks" at New York's legendary Studio 54. That production received a nomination for a Lucille 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.^[37]

The third a cappella musical to appear Off-Broadway, In Transit, premiered 5 October 2010 and was produced by Primary Stages with book, music, and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez, James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan, and Sara 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 actor Chesney Snow performed this role for the 2010 Primary Stages production.^[38] According to the show's website, it is scheduled to reopen for an open-ended commercial run in the Fall of 2011.^[39] 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.

No show with a cappella orchestrations has ever run on Broadway.

Barbershop style[link]

Barbershop music is one of the few uniquely American art forms. The earliest reports of this style of a cappella music involved African Americans. The earliest documented quartets all began in barbershops. 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 the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS). Today the BHS has over 30,000 members in 800 chapters across the United States, and the barbershop style has spread around the world with organizations in many other countries. 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 didn't change its name to Sweet 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, England, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, Sweden, Wales 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.

In Europe[link]

A list of European a cappella groups:

• The Flying Pickets (Great Britain)
• Bjelleklang (Norway)
• Canal'do (Belgium)
• Klapa Fa Lindjo (Croatia)
• Klapa Šufit (Croatia)
• Rajaton (Finland)
• Bolyki Brothers (Hungary)
• Fool Moon (Hungary)
• The Real Group (Sweden)
• SONO (Denmark)
• Van Canto (Germany)
• Wise Guys (Germany)
• Viva Voce (Germany)
• Maybebop (Germany)
• Basta (Germany)
• Rock4 (Netherlands)
• The Polyphonics (Ireland)
• Close Harmony Friends^[40] (Slovakia)
• The King's Singers (England)
• Voces8 (England)
• The Swingle Singers (England)
• Fragile (Slovakia)^[41]
• Pikkardiyska Tertsiya (Ukraine)
• Cosmos (Latvia)
• Latvian Voices (Latvia)
• Pow woW (France)
• Montezuma's Revenge (Netherlands)
• Witloof Bay (Belgium)
• 4TET (Czech Republic)
• Vozes da Rádio (Portugal)
• Acapella Sens(Roumania)^[42]
• Neri per Caso (Italy)
• Alti & Bassi (Italy)
• Out of The Blue (Oxford University) (England)