The Heart Of A Song by Jadi Campbell
Once again, NEAT has asked author Jadi Campbell to collaborate with us on a music project and to write an original text that integrates a specific number of chosen songs into a captivating storyline.
After I LIKE A GERSHWIN TUNE, HOW ABOUT YOU which featured the compositions of Ira & George Gershwin, THE LEGEND OF OL’ BOB STUFF, based on the songs and biography of Bob Dylan, HARD TIMES IN SUGAR TOWN which was based on the popular music of the Depression Era and most recently the Woody Guthrie themed tale MADE FOR YOU AND ME we now join together to bring you an evening based on the music and harmonies of the BARBER SHOP QUARTET genre.
This new project features THE STUTTGART HARMONIZERS; Petra Weidenbach, Georg Irion, Mark Hatlie, Mathias Elsäßer and Storyteller Derrick Jenkins.
“It is a proven fact that listening to music will improve your powers of concentration, powers of recall, and your mood. A song changes how you see the world. Music provides the same pleasure as eating good food or being with someone you love. Babies recognize songs from inside the womb. Music eases pain. And, perhaps most important, listening to any kind of music is good for your heart. You breathe better when your breaths are in sync with your heartbeats.” - Jadi Campbell
Barbershop harmony is a style of unaccompanied vocal music characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note; the same word sounds at the same time. The melody is consistently sung by the lead (second tenor). The (first) tenor harmonizes above the melody, the bass sings the lowest harmonizing notes, and the baritone completes the chord.
When the voices of four justly tuned human beings join in song, overtones bolster overtones, equal harmonic richness occurs, and sound can feel 3-D – like an audio hologram. The overtones will ring in your ears; you’ll experience a spinal shiver. Goose Bumps will stand out on your arms. Barbershop fans call this sensation seventh heaven and once experienced, it’s hard to forget.
American barbershop music has its roots in the late 19th century South, born from an African-American population with a rich cultural tradition of four-part hymns and folk songs. The vocal pastime soon became commonplace in Southern barbershops, the local social centers of the era.
Today, the American Barbershop Harmony Society has over 22,000 members.
In cooperation with: DAZ – Deutsch-Amerikanisches Zentrum, Staatministerin für Kultur und Medien, Kulturverein Merlin e.V.
Foto © Uka Meissner deRuiz