A Cappella- An Unconventional Music
Now-a-days I am more into
music than anything else. It was the Independence Day when for the first time I
saw a music video on 9XM, and I was totally overwhelmed with that. I had the
same kind of Goosebumps long time back when I heard Shankar Mahadevan’s Breathless. The video I am talking about
is Penn Masala’s latest hit Maa Tujhe
Salam featured on the 66th Independence Day on 9XM. It moved me so
much that I had to dig out all the corresponding facts about it. And I found
out a lot. This song is an A Cappella. And what is a A Cappella is a must read.
A Cappella is an Italian word meaning
“in the manner of the church” or “in the manner of the chapel”. A Cappella is a
kind of music that is performed solo or in groups without an accompaniment of
instruments. There is a long history of A Cappella in religious ritual.
Traditionally, A Cappella was the only way of
Christian musical worship. Instruments were not introduced into the churches
until 670 AD. A Cappella is mainly intended for religious music. In Eastern
Europe, the music performed in the Eastern Orthodox Cathedrals and monasteries
is sung without instrumental help. In Jewish religion, the use of instruments
is traditionally forbidden on the Sabbath. A Cappella is included in most of
the Jewish rituals and celebrations. Also in Muslim communities, A Cappella is
involved, mostly in Nasheed or Tawasheeh.
A Cappella prominently exists in the
United States of America, where the dean of the North-western University School
of Music, Peter Christian Lutkin, has founded A Cappella Choir, a foundation to promote A Cappella music in 1906. There are a good many organisations led by so many generous people endorsing A
Cappella music all over USA.
A Cappella Choir (Courtesy: Google Images) |
The introduction of Collegiate A
Cappella is indistinct. But possibly The Rensselyrics of Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute (old name ‘RIP Glee Club’), established in 1873 is the oldest
collegiate A Cappella group. The longest continuously-singing group is ‘The
Whiffenpoofs’ of Yale University, formed in 1909.
The Whiffenpoofs (Courtesy: Google Images) |
The Top 10 A
Cappella Groups
1. Take 6
Courtesy: Google Images |
2. The Persuasions
Courtesy: Google Images |
3. Bobby McFerrin
Courtesy: Google Images |
4. Rockapella
Courtesy: Google Images |
5. King’s Singers
Courtesy: Google Images |
6. Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Courtesy: Google Images |
7. Chanticleer
Courtesy: Google Images |
8. GLAD
Courtesy: Google Images |
9. The Mint Juleps
Courtesy: Google Images |
10. Tonic Sol-Fa
Courtesy: tonicsolfa.com |
Indian A Cappella Band, Penn Masala
Courtesy: pennmasala.com |
The
first South-East Asian A Cappella group, as well as the first Indian A Cappella
band is Penn Masala, founded in 1996 at the University of Pennsylvania. They also
have performed various types of music such as bollywood, R & B, hip-hop, Indian classical by emulating instrumentation by reproducing melody
with their vocal cords.
Courtesy: Google Images |
Courtesy: Google Images |
In 1998 the group became luminous
within the North American Desi
community. In October 2008, Penn Masala performed for US President Barrack
Obama in White House. In 1999, their first full-length album, Awaaz, released. They have also
performed for the BBC Radio in London. They have performed in different
concerts like at Zee Gold Awards, NYC, Bollywood Music Awards, NYC and many others.
The 15-members-group surely rocks the whole nation mainly the youth.
Their Albums
·
Awaaz(1990)
·
11 PM(2001)
·
Soundcheck(2003)
·
The Brown Album(2005)
·
Out of Stock(2005)
·
Pehchaan(2007)
·
On Detours(2009)
·
Panoramic(2011)
Courtesy: Youtube
Thanks for the knowledge insight regarding this form of music ... being a music lover myself, it was great getting to know about this art :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for commenting. Keep in touch.:D
DeleteFollowed u ryt bk. And liked ur pg on FB too :)
ReplyDeleteKeep smiling!
Eshna
allthingsdesirable.blogspot.in
thank you so much Eshna. Keep in touch. Keep reading:D
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