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A cappella

Music performed a cappella, less commonly a capella,[1] (/ˌɑː kəˈpɛlə/ AH-kə-PEL-ə, UK also /ˌæ -/ A-, Italian: [a kkapˈpɛlla];[2] lit. 'in the style of the chapel') is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term a cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato musical styles. 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] The term is also used, rarely, as a synonym for alla breve.[3]

For other uses, see A cappella (disambiguation).

A cappella

Jewish and Christian worship

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Early history[edit]

A cappella could be as old as humanity itself. Research suggests that singing and vocables may have been what early humans used to communicate before the invention of language.[4] The earliest piece of sheet music is thought to have originated from times as early as 2000 BC,[5] while the earliest that has survived in its entirety is from the first century AD: a piece from Greece called the Seikilos epitaph.[5]

Modern Christians typically believe it is acceptable to play instruments or to attend weddings, funerals, banquets, etc., where instruments are heard playing religious music. The Church Fathers made no exceptions. Since the New Testament never condemns instruments themselves, much less in any of these settings, it is believed that "the church Fathers go beyond the New Testament in pronouncing a negative judgment on musical instruments."[29]

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Written opposition to instruments in worship began near the turn of the 5th century. Modern opponents of instruments typically do not make the same assessment of instruments as these writers,[nb 2] who argued that God had allowed David the "evil" of using musical instruments in praise.[33] While the Old Testament teaches that God specifically asked for musical instruments,[34] modern concern is for worship based on the New Testament.

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Lists of a cappella groups

List of professional a cappella groups

A Cappella Music Awards