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Tyler Hartline

Merewyn Weinkauf

MUSC 331

14 April 2021

The Music of Life: Spirituals, Barbershop, and Contemporary A Cappella

Simply by being alive in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, modern humans have

been given a gift that no other generation has experienced quite like us: hundreds of genres of

choral music. Although vocal music has been a central part of human existence since the

beginning, today’s world offers many forms that can speak to each person’s experiences in a

unique way. Performing choral ensembles often present a set of music that includes various

genres to ensure that each audience member has something they can relate to and enjoy. Like

many things in music history, choral genres have evolved from each other to give us music that

is both reminiscent of the styles that came before but that still moves forward to relate to a new

generation. Throughout my choral experiences, I have found a great love for three choral genres:

spirituals, barbershop, and contemporary a cappella. Each of these genres are intertwined

because of their influence on one another and the similar elements of their works. I like to refer

to these three genres as the “music of life”, for nothing makes me feel more alive and connected

to my humanity and mortality. Others might feel the same about other genres, but these genres

are what speak to me the most. In an effort to learn more about my favorite genres, I will be

looking at the histories of each and analyzing some of their extraordinary works.

Of the three genres, the African-American spiritual came earliest and had the most

influence on numerous choral styles to come. The African-American spiritual is an American

folksong that is associated with slavery in the South (Library of Congress). The genre came to
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prominence in the years leading up to the abolishment of slavery in the 1860’s and is the most

significant form of American folksong (Library of Congress). African-American spirituals were

born in the eighteenth-century at informal gatherings of slaves in outdoor meetings called “brush

arbor meetings” (Library of Congress). At the meetings, the people would sing, dance, chant, and

practice “ring shout”, or a style of circle dancing and handclapping (Library of Congress). This

style of music stemmed from the musical styles of Africa that the slaves were torn away from. In

Africa, music making was a part of daily activities and important events; however, the white

Americans did not allow the slaves to worship in such ways (Library of Congress). After a slow-

uptake of Christianity among the African-American slave population, the people began to

worship in secret and created spirituals to express the community’s faith, sorrows, and hopes

(Library of Congress). Spirituals were also used as coded messages to help the slaves escape.

Spirituals like “Steal away to Jesus”, “Go Down, Moses”, “I Got My Ticket”, and “Wade in the

Water” could all have been used as coded messages to give information on how to escape

(Library of Congress). The style of spirituals was call-and-response, with slides, turns, nuanced

rhythms, and syncopation (Library of Congress). After the abolishment of slavery, a performing

ensemble called the Jubilee Singers began to bring greater appreciation for the genre (Music

Library). They added four-part harmony, Standard English, and minimized clapping and

shouting, bring us the style we are more familiar with today, but keeping the roots of the music

and its history (Music Library). Today, composers like Andre Thomas, Moses Hogan, and

Stacey Gibbs have continued to arrange the African-American spiritual and have published

arrangements that move my soul.

One of the genres that stemmed from the African-American spiritual was barbershop. For

a long time, the origin of barbershop music was obscure (Britannica). Many historians thought it
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came from American barbershops in the nineteenth century or from Britain (Britannica);

however, there is now evidence that barbershop came from African-American traditions

(Barbershop Harmony Society). In the late 1880’s and 1890’s, African-Americans harmonized

popular songs, spirituals, and folk songs recreationally, using the styles African music and the

spiritual (Barbershop Harmony Society). White minstrel performers who had heard the musical

qualities of the style started to imitate the sound in their shows, including the use of blackface

and African-American dialect (Barbershop Harmony Society). The musical style became so

popular that white professional quartets, often minstrel singers, started to record the music

(Barbershop Harmony Society). The white-men quartets used both old minstrel songs and new

music that had no reference to the African-American community (Barbershop Harmony Society).

Black quartets did not get recorded, which is why the barbershop stereotype is of four, middle-

aged white men (Barbershop Harmony Society). The recordings of the white quartets, without

the original African-American traits of the style, became so popular that the general public began

to associate the close-harmony sound with white barbershop quartets (Barbershop Harmony

Society). Barbershops place in history was solidified when the Barbershop Harmony Society was

formed, yielding almost 800 chapters by the twenty-first century (Britannica). Today, barbershop

is recognized as four-part male, female, or mixed quartet or chorus that uses close-harmony,

homophonic texture, and variations of tempo, timbre, volume, diction, and phrasing (Britannica).

We may never know or hear how barbershop was intended to sound by the original black

quartets, but the current arrangements and performers give us a glimpse of what it may have

been like.

Contemporary a cappella music, my personal favorite genre of choral music, evolved

from the African-American spiritual, gospels, barbershop, and doo-wop. As stated earlier,
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barbershop evolved form the African-American spiritual. In the 1940’s, doo-wop evolved along

East Coast America, featuring songs about love performed a cappella by young black men

(Bruce T.). After that, there wasn’t much of a shift in the popular a cappella genres until the

1990’s when college groups began to emulate instruments during performance (Bruce T.). One

such group was Tuft University’s Beelzebub’s, directed by Deke Sharon (Chorus America).

Sharon would go on to found the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America, produce the

Sing-Off, direct Pitch Perfect, and be deemed the father of contemporary a cappella (Chorus

America). The Sing-Off and Pitch Perfect brought contemporary a cappella to high popularity

levels, and now the genre is performed and celebrated in high schools, colleges, and by

professional groups (Chorus America). Groups that have won the Sing-Off, most notably

Pentatonix, Home Free, and Voice Play, have continued to perform contemporary a cappella

music successfully as a career. Currently, the style of contemporary a cappella consists of

arranging covers of popular music, either directly or loosely, that celebrates the power of the

human voice in harmony. Although a cappella arrangers do not focus as much on emulating the

instruments in performance, the arrangements still have the vocalists singing the instrumental

lines. There are now contemporary a cappella festivals, camps, competitions, and schools

popping up across the nation. Ohio is home to the National A Cappella Festival and Camp A

Cappella, both of which are directed by Deke Sharon and that I have had the privilege of

attending. Although contemporary a cappella is a relatively new genre, it is one that has

maintained immense popularity amongst singers and devoted fans.

Of these three genres, there are thousands of incredible compositions and arrangements

for modern ensembles to perform. Although I love many different arrangements, there are a few

that truly speak to me and that I will not hesitate to program as a conductor. Of the African-
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American spiritual genre, my favorite work is “Great God Almighty” by Stacey V. Gibbs. Gibbs

is an incredible composer and conductor that I was able to work with at Bowling Green State

University during a choral festival. His arrangement of “Great God Almighty” is one I will never

forget. The big sounds of the chorus, the rhythmic structure, and the power of the arrangement

make for an incredible experience for both performer and audience. The close of the piece

consists of a build part by part that is truly stunning by the time everyone joins back together.

My favorite barbershop song is “Hit Me With a Hot Note” performed by the Forefront Quartet.

The harmonies are clearly of the barbershop style and the performers explore timbre, diction,

tempo, and more. The quartet is entertaining, and each member is very talented. The ending tag

is amazing and shows off how impressive barbershop music is. My favorite contemporary a

cappella arrangement is Rob Dietz’s “Make It Holy” performed by OneVoice. It is a cover of a

song by The Staves, and I have to say I prefer the a cappella version more. The ensemble blends

very well and there is a constant build throughout until the climax of the song. I get emotional

every time I hear this arrangement and am moved by how well the high school group performed.

I have included links for each song below my works cited page. All in all, these three pieces will

forever be staples of the genres and ones that I share with my students for years to come.

The African-American spiritual, barbershop, and contemporary a cappella have

intertwined histories and have shaped each other to build the choral genres I love. African-

American spirituals originated in slave plantations and were a way for African-Americans to

worship and pass coded messages. Barbershop was born from black communities and made

mainstream by white minstrel singer quartets. Contemporary a cappella was built from

barbershop, doo-wop, and college groups working to emulate instruments. Each genre has

continued to evolve and be a large part of modern choral music and performance. If I am given
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the opportunity to conduct a choral ensemble, these three genres will be at the front of my mind

when I select repertoire. There is much that we can learn from these genres as musicians and

society members, especially when looking at the importance of the genre at the time it was

created. These genres of choral music can teach us much, but they can also give us a feeling of

connection and life that other genres of choral music sometimes fall short of. I am glad to live in

a time when spirituals, barbershop, and contemporary a cappella are at such high prominence and

when I can be reminded of why I am pursuing a degree in music education simply by listening.
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Works Cited

“African American Spirituals.” Library of Congress, accessed on April 14th, 2021.

https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200197495/.

Barbershop Harmony Society. “Roots of Barbershop Harmony.” Barbershop.org, accessed on

April 14th, 2021. https://www.barbershop.org/about/history-of-barbershop/roots-of-

barbershop-harmony.

Chorus America Staff. “The Rise of A Cappella.” ChorusAmerica.com, December 2nd, 2010.

https://www.chorusamerica.org/singers/rise-cappella.

Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Barbershop quartet singing.” Britannica.com, accessed on

April 14th, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/art/barbershop-quartet-singing.

Music Library Staff. “Spirituals and Gospels.” University of South Carolina, accessed on April

14th, 2021. https://digital.library.sc.edu/exhibits/southernafricanamericanmusic/spirituals-

and-gospel/.

T., Bruce. “A Cappella of Music & Theatre.” TheaterSeatStore.com, December 30th, 2020.

https://www.theaterseatstore.com/blog/a-capella-theater.

Video Links

“Great God Almighty” arr. Stacey V. Gibbs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJNN5bc66Gc

“Hit Me With a Hot Note” by Forefront: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8NGCikkgGo

“Make It Holy” arr. Rob Dietz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNxfS7JTUFw