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January 2008 InCider Press Page 7 |
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A recent inquiry by a member regarding the early history of barbershop Choruses in SPEBSQSA prompted me to send a few pages of background information. I thought the Harmonet would find these 1200 words an illuminating addition to this ongoing thread. The Heritage of Harmony history book is available from the Harmony Marketplace catalog,800-876-SING The year had been 1939, and the place was a hotel in St. Louis. Owen Cash was making his first visit to a group organized by Dr. Norman Rathert as the third chapter in the Society. Rathert wasted no time in bringing up the subject of barbershop chorus singing: "If you get a group of men together and . . . teach them to sing their parts . . . look how many quartets you are bringing into being, real fast." Cash was interested, and when the Society held its first midwinter meeting in St. Louis in 1940, Rathert directed his chorus, the first in Society history, for all to enjoy. While many chapters of the 1940s engaged only in quartet singing, interest in barbershop choruses at the chapter level grew steadily during that decade. The Harmonizer carried pictures of pioneer choruses in Bloomington, Illinois (March 1943); Wilmington, Delaware (May 1943); Evansville, Indiana February 1945); Schenectady, New York (February 1946); and London, Ontario August 1946). Reports by chapters and districts dealing with chorus activity were regularly printed. On September 1, 1948, the Society issued its first training material for chapter choruses -- a 12-page section for the Chapter Reference Manual, published by the International chapter Methods Committee and sent to all chapters. It defined a barbershop chorus as any group of men who rehearse for public performance under a capable director, singing four-part harmony, and in which membership is closed to "all but regular chorus members." It detailed possible solutions to problems of organization, financing and repertoire, suggested auditions and apprenticeship periods for prospective members, and warned that salaries might be required for some chorus directors. Song Folio It was not surprising, therefore, that early in the 1950s the international committee on chapter choruses undertook to solve a long-felt need -- the publication of a folio of songs suitable for chorus singing. It drew into this program the chairman of the international Song Arrangements Committee, Frank H. Thorne, who provided eight arrangements of the 33 in the folio and also supervised the production of the entire book. The arrangements provided in this book according to the announcement to the Society, were chosen and designed to an |
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swer the earlier criticism that many arrangements for quartets were too difficult for choruses to attempt! A wide variety of songs was used -- religious, "Rock of Ages"; patriotic, "Star-Spangled Banner"; traditional, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny." It was a first step but it showed that the Society was consciously going into anew age of chorus singing. International Level The next step by the International Chorus Committee was a chorus contestant the international level. Said The Harmonizer, "this contest was in no way intended to detract from the primary purpose of holding an international quartet contest, but merely to serve as an added attraction for convention-goers, and to provide further recognition to the commendable contributions chapter choruses have made to the advancement of barbershopping." Entrants were limited to two per district, required to have at least 20 members, and might or might not include the current chorus champion of the district, according to the decision of the district president. (Some districts had not yet started to hold chorus contest.) Since it was clear they would not all arrive via the contest route, the winner was to be called only the "The 1953 International Convention Championship Chorus." This was not an "international" chorus contest. That came a year later. The contest in Detroit brought 16 choruses as entrants, with six districts sending two, and four sending just one chorus. Four of the more distant districts (Far Western, Southwestern, Northeastern and Dixie) were not represented. Over two thousand conventioneers attended, and the contest was held, not in the headquarters hotel ballroom as planned, but in the Masonic Temple, the site of the quartet contest. The winner was the Great Lakes Chorus, Grand Rapids, Michigan, with the Q Suburban Chorus, La Grange, Illinois, second, and East York, Ontario, third. The singing was met with great enthusiasm. First International Chorus Contest In the fall of 1953, therefore, all districts held contests to select up to two representatives each to the first international chorus contest, which was to be held in Washington, D.C., in June 1954. There is no doubt that the First International Chorus Contest was a grand success. All districts except Far Western, Land O' Lakes, Southwestern and Ontario sent the two choruses they were permitted, and these four sent one chorus each. The first international chorus champion, chosen at this convention, was the Singing Capital Chorus, from the District of Columbia Chapter; the remaining top choruses were: second -- Michigan City, Indiana; third -- Middletown, Ohio; fourth -- Q Suburban of La Grange, Illinois; and fifth -- East York, Ontario. The new trophy made and donated by Benny Landino and his chapter in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, was presented to the winner. (Continued on page 8) |
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Barbershop History Submitted by Wayne Bailie By Brian Lynch in the Harmonet |
