Unaccompanied Singing

Subject: RE: Unaccompanied Singing
From: Peterr
Date: 11 Nov 03 - 12:25 PM

I quite agree with the duck - never been sure why it was thought necessary to replace the term 'unaccompanied' with 'a capella' to include all singing without instruments. Thread drift anyway, that goes nowhere towards giving Jerry any answers.

Subject: RE: Unaccompanied Singing
From: Leadfingers
Date: 11 Nov 03 - 12:22 PM

Traditionally in UK ALL 'Folk' singing was unaccompanied,Church music tended to be accomanied,sometimes with several musicians,and 'Court'
music was also accompanied. A lot of 'Folk' singers DID play various instruments,but ONLY for dancing.The idea of accompanied Folk Song is relatively recent developement dating from the Folk revival since the Second World War.
    Gospel singing I cant help you with.

Subject: RE: Unaccompanied Singing
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 11 Nov 03 - 12:01 PM

Don't know much about Gospel Singing, but in the UK Folk Scene there is a very large amount of unaccompanied singing. Although the term Acapella is used in certain circumstances to describe singing which is unaccompanied as the term refers to it being "as in a church or chapel", I wouldn't describe shanties or much of British Folk as anything to do with a church (there are, of course exceptions, both in content and/or style of presentation). I prefer the term "unaccompanied" for most of what WE do over here.
Quack!
Geoff the Duck.

Subject: RE: Unaccompanied Singing
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 11 Nov 03 - 11:41 AM

I never heard a she-goat sing gospel... thanks for the correction, Richard. But if she did, I bet she'd sing a capella..


Jerry

Subject: RE: Unaccompanied Singing
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 11 Nov 03 - 11:22 AM

According to my OED that's a cappella, for singing. I think (I can't put my hand on an authority at the moment) that "capella" is a she-goat.

Subject: Unaccompanied Singing
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 11 Nov 03 - 11:17 AM

These days, I've been thinking about the Gospel In Black and White Workshop I'll be leading at NOMAD this weekend, with fellow Catters Jim and Cindy Bean, and Dwditty. It got me thinking about a capella singing.

A few days ago, Colin, Carole, Noreen, Theresa and Allan of the Shellbacks were here at a house for a morning of singing with the Gospel Messengers and Karen Kabela. The Shellbacks sang a capella exclusively, as did Karen. We sang with guitar accompaniment (although we do several a capella numbers, too.) There is clearly a much stronger tradition of a capella singing in England than there is here in Amurica. That started me thinking about a capella music, too.

Rather than go all over the map to start with (I make no promises for the future,) I thought I'd get your thoughts on a capella music in gospel. Now, in contemporary gospel (black and white) a capella is anything with less than three keyboards, two electric guitars and an electric bass. But, in the older style gospel (black and white,) how much singing was done a capella?. In black gospel, I think of groups like the Fairfield Four who have always been a capella, but they are unusual. Most black gospel groups did a few a capella numbers, as we do. And white gospel? well, there's shape-note singing (and black shape-note singers, too) that is unaccompanied and much of the early church music sung by congregations was sung a capella ( in black churches, too.) There are differences in styles of a capella music, between black and white, which I'll coment on.

In the workshop, Rich Gallagher (dwditty) will do some guitar accompanied black gospel. I was thinking of Mississippi John, and perhaps it's an innacurate generality, but I mostly remember him singing gospel unaccompanied. Someone can correct me on that, who has heard more of his gospel (or has a better memory.)

For starters, anybody have any thoughts about unaccompanied gospel singing? Do you think it was more common in black or white gospel?
Why was gospel sung unaccompanied? Any opinions?

I go into a black gospel chat room, and when I ask people if they are musicians, they'll often answer "No, I just sing." I find that a very odd concept... and probably more Amurican than British. You mean there aren't any musicians in the Shellbacks, except the woman who plays concertina?

C'mon... let's hear what you have to say...

Jerry