# Your favorite a capella music **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 22, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898 "2008-08-22T03:57:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/21 "2008-08-23T00:41:38Z")
Anybody posting in this thread might want to check out [http://www.wers.org](http://www.wers.org) for their All A Cappella show, Saturday and Sunday from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The most dopeworthy _a cappella_ song I know is “Title of the Song” by Da Vinci’s Notebook. It’s like the template for every boy-band ballad ever written. Some actual lyrics: \*Declaration of my feelings for you Elaboration on those feelings Description of how long these feelings have existed Belief that no one else could feel the same as I Reminiscence of the pleasant times we shared And our relationship’s perfection Recounting of the steps that led to our love’s dissolution Mostly involving my unfaithfulness and lies Penitent admission of wrongdoing Discovery of the depth of my affection Regret over the lateness of my epiphany (Chorus) Title of the song Naive expression of love Reluctance to accept that you are gone Request to turn back time And rectify my wrongs Repetition of the title of the song\* ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/22 "2008-08-23T01:08:56Z")
The “Non Nobis, Domine” heard as the English march back over the bloody fields of Agincourt in _Henry V_. One male voice begins it, and it swells to a full chorus. Makes me cry every time. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/23 "2008-08-23T01:15:46Z")
Definitely going to check out the recommendations here. I LOVE a capella. As far as artists go – the Dale Warland Singers, the Robert Shaw Chorale, and Chanticleer. As far as pieces go – Robert Schumann’s songs for male voices; Randall Thompson’s _Peaceable Kingdom_; Duruflé’s “Ubi Caritas,” just about anything by Stephen Paulus or Morten Lauridsen. And I’m with you, **EJs Girl** , on “Non Nobis, Domine.” Patrick Doyle. Here’s a [YouTube clip.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13FrLGB_oK8) It gets orchestral at the end, but the a capella part…wow! ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/24 "2008-08-23T01:22:14Z")
It seems like every college has at least one student A Cappella group that mostly covers pop songs, and many of these groups are spectacular. Check out the Testostertones, The Hullabahoos, the Brown Derbies, Off the Beat, On the Rocks, Schwa, the SoCal VoCals, or Tufts Amalgamates, to name a few. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/25 "2008-08-23T02:09:12Z")
[QUOTE=Rico] I’ve always had a soft spot for [The Nylons](http://www.thenylons.com/) - and just had the opportunity last May of seeing them in concert. The boys put on a great show! It’s all vocals and percussion. [/QUOTE] Damn, you beat me to it. “Rock and Roll Lullaby” comes to mind, and of course, their version of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. The Roches - Hallelujah Chorus! ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/26 "2008-08-23T02:18:17Z")
Petra Hayden covered _“The Who Sell Out”_ all by herself…the CD is amazing. I was lucky enough to see her perform it live with her group “The Sellouts”, and that was amazing, too. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/27 "2008-08-23T02:48:21Z")
[QUOTE=freckafree] And I’m with you, **EJs Girl** , on “Non Nobis, Domine.” Patrick Doyle. Here’s a [YouTube clip.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13FrLGB_oK8) It gets orchestral at the end, but the a capella part…wow! [/QUOTE] Here’s the [actual scene](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1GDRx-F1C0&feature=related) if anyone’s interested. The guy in blue & red is the king (Branagh) and the kid he’s carrying? Christian Bale. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/28 "2008-08-23T04:11:38Z")
[QUOTE=EJsGirl] The “Non Nobis, Domine” heard as the English march back over the bloody fields of Agincourt in _Henry V_. One male voice begins it, and it swells to a full chorus. Makes me cry every time. [/QUOTE] Sadly, that is a capella only for the first two verses. The fourth verse is awesome as a chorale, and could have stood alone without the minor accompaniment. But from there, it’s quite instrumental. It is however quite beautiful. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/29 "2008-08-23T04:23:50Z")
The Barra MacNeils do a lovely version of “O Come Divine Messiah.” [sample](http://www.cranfordpub.com/mp3s/barramacneils3.mp3) ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/30 "2008-08-23T04:47:33Z")
“Rogues in a Nation” by Steeleye Span. ---
**Author:** ![Foolonthehill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Foolonthehill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foolonthehill)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/31 "2008-08-23T18:39:56Z")
Not one mention of the **Persuasions???** We Came To Play is the best a capella album in the universe ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/32 "2008-08-23T19:23:37Z")
[QUOTE=Yllaria] **Zombie Jamboree** by Rockapella. Appologies for any spelling errors. [/QUOTE] IMHO you can’t go wrong with Rockapella. Hell I used to watch Where in the World is Carmen San Diego just to see them sing. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/33 "2008-08-23T21:45:16Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] IMHO you can’t go wrong with Rockapella. Hell I used to watch Where in the World is Carmen San Diego just to see them sing. [/QUOTE] In [this version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuzc4jgwlT8&feature=related) of the theme song, one of the members does a fantastic drum solo. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/34 "2008-08-23T21:54:26Z")
“Wide Hoop Skirt” by the Nutmegs. Actually, the Nutmegs in general are an awfully good. Also, early Mills Brothers where they did all the “instrumentation” a capella. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/35 "2008-08-23T21:55:59Z")
Alison Krauss singing “Down to the River to Pray” Truthfully, anything Alison sings is wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![unstrung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a698b9/32.png) [@unstrung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unstrung)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/36 "2008-08-23T22:42:06Z")
[QUOTE=Robot Arm] Anybody posting in this thread might want to check out [http://www.wers.org](http://www.wers.org) for their All A Cappella show, Saturday and Sunday from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. [/QUOTE] Hells yeah! I’m currently in Florida, but I lived in Boston for over a decade, and I can agree wholeheartedly that WERS is one of the coolest radio stations ever. EVER. [QUOTE=Robot Arm] The most dopeworthy _a cappella_ song I know is “Title of the Song” by Da Vinci’s Notebook. It’s like the template for every boy-band ballad ever written. [/QUOTE] Oh, crap. We were getting along so well, and then you had to go and hurt me like that. I actually auditioned for Da Vinci’s Notebook many, many years ago, and those talented bastards turned me down. Grrrrrr. To be fair, I was _much_ less confident back in those days, and I’m sure it came across in the audition. But still… (but yeah, their tunes are pretty fun) ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/37 "2008-08-23T23:25:43Z")
For me, it’s Stan Rogers’ _Barrett’s Privateers_. On his Home in Halifax album, it’s sung in four-part male harmony as part of a live concert and it makes me glad to be a straight woman! ---
**Author:** ![Lillith\_Fair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lillith\_Fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lillith_Fair)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/38 "2008-08-24T00:45:30Z")
[QUOTE=Khadaji] The first one that popped into my brain was [The Monkees Riu Chiu](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIYIhUsamj0) [/QUOTE] That’s one of the oddest things of seen or heard, the Monkees singing that song. Mike even took his hat off. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/39 "2008-08-24T01:27:41Z")
Thanks for bringing up this subject. I remember a film back in 1968 called: “if…” and the soundtrack was Missa Luba. I bought the album when it came out and played it to death, getting many of my friends turned on to it (and driving my family absolutely nuts after playing it for the 300th time). [Click here to listen to a track!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToNb-02n3KY) If you like that clip, there are other clips listed next to it to hear more from that soundtrack. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898/40 "2008-08-24T01:55:36Z")
Somewhere back out there you can find a nifty version of The Bangles backed by Rockapella doing _Walk Like An Egyptian_. On a completely different tack, a couple of things I think everyone should hear once are throat singing, for example [Hun Huur Tu](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxK4pQgVvfg), and [David Hykes’s Harmonic Choir](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X03ZJ6eLQzU) interpretation of that type of form. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-a-capella-music/460898.md?page=3)