You've Got to Hear This!

[oldgrappler]

Exquisite vocal harmony. Ringmasters is the 2012 International Barbershop Quartet Champion. They are from Sweden which explains why they are a little goofy.

 

In this video they sing a medley from the Tale of the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

 

Listen all the way to the end...

 

[oldgrappler]

Tell me what you think.

[MJAlltheWay24]

Sorry @oldgrappler, they just didn't do it for me. I'd much rather listen to something like Collabro:

 

[oldgrappler]

@MJAlltheWay, thanks for sharing the clip and for giving your opinion.

 

I enjoyed the clip. As you know, this kind of thing is a matter of preference. I respect your preference and can appreciate what the group did.

 

Let me provide the reasons I prefer Ringmasters from the clip I shared. First, Collabro had very good vocal quality across the board. The least capable singer among them was the last soloist, but still very good. The advantage Collabro has over Ringmasters is that they have a full orchestra backing them. They don't have to fill in the sound in the same manner as the quartet I shared. Also, there are times when it sounds like, in addition to Collabros' 5 voices, there are many other voices singing as well. And for me, the whole thing is overproduced.

 

I prefer the simplicity of Barbershop sound in which four voices must produce all the sound together. And when the voices are properly balanced, the chording of the Barbershop arrangement actually causes a synergy so that the sound produced by each individual voice stacks up with the others to create overtones, and sometimes, undertones that really fill out the sound. That's called "ringing" a chord and is very cool to be a part of. The effects are not produced by instrumentation or production through a sound system, or aided by instrumentation, but by the four voices alone. This is what flips my switch. Again, just a preference thing. You don't have to agree. Thanks for sharing the vid of Collabro. I am digging the singing shows that feature a capella music. Though I don't prefer the attempt to sound like percussion or other instruments. I like the purity of the human voice. Which is why I don't prefer the contemporary groups, like Pentatonix, though I am amazed at their skill and talent. I prefer the Barbershop sound.

 

The arrangement sung by Ringmaster's isn't pure Barbershop but I thought it was a pretty cool arrangement of a really cool medley. And they do a really good job on it. They are amateurs and are required to be so to compete in the International contest. That means that they can't earn a living with their quartet. They may have careers in music, such as music teacher, background vocalist, etc., but their quartet cannot be their career in which they earn a living. Most Barbershop Quartet singers have regular jobs like in IT, engineering, school teacher, construction worker, sales, etc.

[Lawnboy13]

Neither is my "cup of tea", however I can highly appreciate the talent of both groups.