A Cappella? Is That How You Spell It?
The phrase a cappella is among the most butchered and misunderstood musical terms. The predominant, and most "correct" spelling, is ...
a cappella - two words, two "p's", two "l's."
A Cappella, A Picky Definition
Musicologists have fun debating the extent to which a cappella, 'in the style of the chapel,' can include instrumental accompaniment. Some argue that early sacred a cappella performances would sometimes include instruments that double a human voice part. So, the correct definition of a cappella should be something like 'singing without independent instrumental accompaniment.'
At Primarily A Cappella, we are trying to popularize this style of music, so we like to keep it simple.
a cappella - two words, two "p's", two "l's." singing without instruments
A Capella?
Some musical dictionaries indicate that the Italian a cappella is preferred over the Latin a capella (one "p") yet both are technically correct. Why do those dictionaries muddy the waters with two spellings?
The phrase was first used in Italian Catholic churches, where Latin was the language for sacred text. Thus, the Latin spelling for 'in the style of the chapel' - a capella - has some historical basis. However, most other musical terms - forte, accelerando, and many others - are Italian in origin. Since the
Italian spelling is more consistent with other musical terms, it has been used more frequently.
Given the difficulty of spelling our favorite style of music, we'd like to endorse the simplicity of a single spelling:
a cappella - two words, two "p's", two "l's." singing without instruments
Acappella
Joining the two Italian words together to make Acappella is a popular variation in the U.S. For many streetcorner singing fans, Acappella means unaccompanied singing of 'fifties (and early 'sixties) songs. There were a series of recordings released in the early 1960's of Mid-Atlantic unaccompanied doo-wop groups called "The Best of Acappella." The liner notes on the first LP noted that Acappella means "singing without music." In this matter we do tend towards being picky - instruments do not alone music make! A cappella (or Acappella) singers make music while they are ...
singing without instruments
A more recent, second meaning of Acappella has emerged. The Contemporary
Christian group Acappella is the first formed by prolific songwriter Keith
Lancaster. In the early 1990's he added Acappella Vocal Band (now mostly known as AVB) and "Acappella: The Series" which uses studio singers (plus LOTS of electronic help) to perform songs around specific themes. All of these efforts are now combined in The Acappella Company. The good news is they have sold millions of recordings and have contributed greatly to the awareness of a
Humans have been known to seek perfection/true beauty for centuries, yet there has always been a limit to these ventures. Hawthorne’s “The Birth-Mark” shows us the extent of action that an obsessed scientist will conduct, even to his own wife, in the hopes of obtaining perfection without knowing the depth of true beauty. Aylmer becomes disgusted/obsessed with his wife Georgiana’s birthmark that is shaped like a small crimson colored hand. He acknowledges that his wife is beautiful and the narrator states/suggests that she would be perfect were it not for the birthmark that mars her lovely face (“The Works”). Hawthorne utilizes the theme of relentless striving for perfection, symbolizes the birthmark and other elements in the story, and foreshadows the conclusion of the story throughout the piece, to ultimately produce this complex psychological struggle that the protagonist goes through.
The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a short story originally published in the 1843 edition of The Pioneer. The story looks at the obsession people have with human perfection. The main characters in the story are Aylmer, the intelligent and well-known scientist, and his beautiful new wife Georgiana, whose only imperfection is the birthmark on her cheek. The symbols such as the birthmark itself used in Hawthorne’s story are not only used to represent objects, they are also used to depict the themes within the short story. The symbolic significance of the birthmark ties into the theme of human dissatisfaction with perfection. It is nature's will to set natural boundaries that prevent man from achieving perfection. In order to be human, you must have some type of flaws and imperfections.
Listening is an important skill that many people take for granted. Listening empathelicay means putting oneself in “someone else’s shoes”. Listening only to get information takes away much of what the speaker is saying, by being able to empathize with someone one is on the same wavelength. In this world, there exist many different cultures and subcultures. In Graciela Limon’s novel, Song of the Hummingbird, Huitzitzilin tells her story as Father Benito listens. She tells Father Benito the native view of what has happened- she tells him things that he has never heard of from his people. Huitzitzilin and Father Benito are products of two different cultures: Aztecs and Spaniards, respectively. Limon portrayed that the Spaniards didn’t even try to understand the Aztecs ways. Limon uses the literary elements of characterization, point of view, and internal conflict to show that in order to understand another culture, one must be able to treat his/her’s history with the same compassion and understanding as if it was their own's.
In the short passage, “The Birthmark” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a husband named Aylmer and his wife Georgiana dispute over a beauty mark displayed on the wife's left cheek. Aylmer tries convincing Georgiana how perfect she would look if she had the birthmark removed from her face, but the Georgiana feels that it makes her unique and perfect in her own way. After persuading her to take a potion that Aylmer created to remove the birthmark, Georgiana awakens birthmark free, but slowly dies. Hawthorne uses many different literary devices in his texts to help his readers get a better understanding of the story. Three literary elements used in the story would be Moral Criticism, Feminist Criticism and Symbolism.
In the short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Birth-Mark,” describes a conflict going on between a husband and his wife. A man by the name Aylmer has a burning passion for science, but has managed to put his experiments aside long enough to marry a young, beautiful woman named Georgiana. Georgiana has a little birth-mark on her cheek, which bothers Aylmer enough to the point where he wants to remove it, with the help of his under worker Aminadab. Aylmer will do anything in the name of science, although Aminadab disapproves, leading to the death of his wife Georgiana. Hawthorne’s use of foreshadowing, irony and symbolism help to show the contrast between Aylmer, Aminadab, and Georgiana.
In 1843, “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne was first published in a minor literary journal. It is a dark tale of an eighteenth century scientist’s obsession with a small, hand shaped birthmark on his wife’s face. Although, the mark did not bother him before their marriage, it becomes such an obsession for him and he can not think of anything but it’s removal from her otherwise perfect face. This imperfection and the incurable nature of mortality become the central idea in this story. In The Birthmark,” Hawthorne uses the fictional element of conflict to convey a pervading sense of torment and tragedy in this short story.
The history of the Concert Band and Wind Ensemble will be reflected through a timeline of events, including an analysis of significant events, groups, composers, and advancements. When society envisions a Wind Ensemble, talented musicians, grand music halls, and difficult arrangements typically come to mind. However, a modern-day Wind Ensemble includes a variety of musicians, each with positive and negative aspects. In society today, music is greatly appreciated and accepted. It is considered an honor and a privilege to expose our ears to the music.
“The Birth-Mark” is a short story that was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, which was published in march of 1843. This story is about a scientist, Aylmer, who is obsessed with physical perfection. It is important to mention that he is a scientist, since they are known for wanting things to be golden. Aylmer is married to a beautiful and caring woman, Georgina. According to to her husband the only “flaw” she has is the small red birthmark on her cheek that is shaped like a tiny hand. He points this birthmark as an “defect” instead of a beauty mark. He describes Georgina is “nearly” perfect, but is not due to the birthmark. Her husband practically insists that she gets plastic surgery to make her perfect. The topic that will be discussed in this
One of the classic examples of fear conditioning is the experiment carried out on little Albert by Watson and Rayner (1920). Little Albert was an infant (11 months old), who was conditioned to fear white rats. Initially when he was exposed to the white rat, little Albert would approach it and play with it. After awhile, when little Albert tried to touch the rat, a loud noise (US) was created which would startle little Albert and cause him to cry (unconditioned response –UR). This pairing was repeated a few times. Later on, when the rat (CS) was again presented to little Alber...
On Wednesday, May 23rd, I attended the College Choir concert in the Reamer Campus Center. The choir performed a variety of songs, ranging from pieces in Latin to traditional American folksongs. Two of the pieces featured solos, and one even featured percussion instruments. Mrs. Elinore Farnum provided piano accompaniment for each of the songs, and performed beautifully. I was extremely impressed by the talented choir members and their ability to sing such a varied range of songs.
In his story, “The Birthmark”, Nathaniel Hawthorne foreshadows the fateful death of Georgiana by including a dialogue, in which she tells her husband to do anything he can to remove the birthmark off her face, regardless of the risk saying “Danger is nothing to me; for life, while this hateful mark makes me the object of your horror and disgust, -- life is a burden which I would fling down with joy.” Hawthorne displays Georgianna openly accept the risk of death, which was the consequence. This also is an example of change over time in Hawthorne’s work. Originally, Georgianna saw the birthmark as a positive thing that made her more attractive, as other men loved it. Howbeit, after hearing her Aylmer’s negative opinion on her birthmark,
This short story was written in the form of the third person omniscient. This point of view is one of my favorites to read in. It really helps me to understand and actually get to know all sides of the story and the feelings of the characters. From reading this story I found that Georgiana just got married to Aylmer and a few days after they wed we find out that Aylmer does not like the birthmark on Georgiana’s face. Georgiana really did not think much of it she liked it. But Aylmer wants it removed and he thinks she would look better without it. So now Georgiana thinks and looks of herself being ugly and she then becomes very unhappy. A good example, when the narrator brings our attention to Aylmer noticing the birthmark as “the symbol of his wife’s liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death” (Hawthorne, 1843, p. 164-2). From reading that statement it gave me the impression that her husband did not approve of that mark being there. He wanted it to be gone completely. I guess he felt that it was in the way of her beauty. For me, I think it is a sign of true beauty. I am able to grasp a better understanding of how these characters truly see the mark. Georgiana thought at one point that is made her attractive and now she has a totally different feeling about it. In this case the birthmark is used as a symbol of human imperfection. It goes to show that we all are not perfect. We are going to have things
Hawthorne uses the birthmark on Georgiana’s cheek to represent the spiritual or non-material aspects of man. Initially, when Hawthorne describes the birthmark, he views it as merely a physical defect. He refers to it as being “the visible mark of earthly imperfection,” (1). As Aylmer continues to dwell on the imperfection, it begins to take on a deeper meaning. He begins to see it as “the fatal flaw of humanity” which comes from the hand of Nature (1). Later, he sees it as “the symbol of his wife’s liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death,” (1). Hawthorne uses Georgiana as a representative of all mankind by telling that Nature places a flaw on “all her productions,” (1). As Aylmer begins to recognize the defect in connection with her immortality, he begins to acknowledge that there is something deeper than the mater...
Watson, J. B., & Rayner, R. (2000). Conditioned emotional reactions. American Psychologist, 55(3), 313-317. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.55.3.313
The Sponsor was the Center for Learning in the Arts, Sciences and Sustainability department of the University of Oklahoma Norman Campus. As per my analysis, this source seems to be objective and impartial since it addresses fundamental facts about folk music and its roles as a powerful communication tool via live performance. The source does not have any biases since the information is presented by the first person as a performer and it has been reviewed by peers. It is clear therefore that any biases must have been eliminated before publication was done. The information, as presented here, is accurate and up to date as per the requirement of my topic of research. The author’s resources are clear, verifiable and up to date in giving out information on the role of music as an ethnic expression. Based on this information, therefore, I can conclude that this is a credible and trustworthy source of information appropriate for a college