Think barbershop music and, sure enough, the first image that pops to mind is four guys in straw hats and striped shirts, harmonizing up a storm. “Lida Rose, oh, won’t you be mine?”
Sure, they sound great, but didn’t that stuff go out of fashion, oh, a hundred years ago?
Forget that. Forget the straw hats, the striped shirts, even the four guys. Instead, consider how barbershop music might sound if sung by 125 women.
When the Melodeers Chorus, based in Northbrook and drawing 24 members from Lake County, belts out Aretha Franklin’s “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” in four-part harmony, outdated images simply evaporate. Call it barbershop with an attitude.
That attitude is one reason the Melodeers won the 1995 International Championship of the Sweet Adelines, an organization of 617 barbershop choruses in North America, Europe and the Pacific. Sweet Adelines choruses are all female and sing without instrumental accompaniment.
The Melodeers Chorus recently electrified an audience at Wheaton College’s Edman Chapel with a reprise of their championship performance and several new songs.
“I think we represent the woman of the ’90s well by adding a contemporary flair to barbershop,” said Melodeers director Jim Arns, 35, of Woodridge, who is responsible for much of the woman-empowering, upbeat humor characteristic of the Melodeers’ style.
Songs range from jazz-tinged torch songs to rock ‘n’ roll, all arranged, mostly by Arns, to accommodate female sensibilities. To begin the Aretha Franklin medley, the chorus asserts its independence from the diminutive Arns, ignoring him and then shoving him around in time to the beat. Finally, he is dragged into the chorus and disappears, looking back beseechingly for help that never comes.
Audiences love it when a dummy of Arns comes flying out from the back of the chorus as members exult to Franklin’s “Freedom!”
Ordinarily Arns is in complete control, using every inch of his body to help the Melodeers convey the emotional or comic meaning of each song.
Intricate hand gestures and dance steps help the chorus develop a distinct “characterization” for each song, said choreographer Renee Porzel of Arlington Heights. “Our song `Oh You Beautiful Doll’ could be done cutesy and Betty-Boopish,” Porzel explained, “but we direct our moves at Jim , playing off the fact that he’s one of the few male directors of Sweet Adelines.”
This kind of focused movement, Porzel said, helps “sell the song because it is visually interesting to the audience.”
A certified Sweet Adelines judge, Mavis Burtness of Denver, noted that “what set the Melodeers apart , head and shoulders above the other competitors, was their performance passion.”
For that passion, the Melodeers were rewarded–in the middle of the competition–with an unprecedented standing ovation from their toughest critics: the 11,000 members of rival choruses (and their friends) who attended the championships in Reno last October.
More than 3,000 women competed for the title; the Melodeers bested 29 other choruses, many of which had won the international title in previous years, some more than once.
Choruses are judged on music, expression, sound and showmanship. Extra points are awarded for the entertainment value of the chorus’ required “show package.”
For the Melodeers, the package included the Franklin tunes and an Elvis medley. When Arns stepped on stage as Elvis, “the whole place went up for grabs,” Burtness said. After that, the winner was never in doubt, at least in the minds of the audience.
“I was so surprised when we won. It was the thrill of my life to win the competition–better than a lifetime of chocolates,” said Ann Kriesant of Wauconda, a retired teacher and charter member of the Melodeers. “With all those former winners, we called it `the mother of all competitions.’ “
Striving for perfection despite their accomplishment, few members of the Melodeers are professional singers or music teachers. Only about half have any previous musical training at all. Some cannot even read music. But all are expected to be “note perfect, gesture perfect” before a competition or performance.
Members generally spend at least four hours per week practicing the intricate choreography and complex harmonies of each song. Those who don’t read music practice from pre-recorded tapes. Rehearsals (in a Northbrook church without air conditioning) routinely run three to four hours each Wednesday.
Small group sessions often consume another evening. Yet women from all walks of life eagerly come from as far away as Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and the far reaches of Lake County to belong to the Melodeers. Kriesant travels 45 minutes each way to rehearse. Why do they do it?
“I love performing, especially at this high level,” said Joan Boutilier, a Lake Zurich homemaker who backs up Arns as associate director. “I wouldn’t keep doing it if I didn’t feel happy, challenged and satisfied.”
But more than that, Boutilier said, Sweet Adelines choruses provide “an instant circle of support and friendship.
The barbershop sound is one of a handful of native musical forms to emerge from the United States. Musically, barbershop differs from other types of singing because of its close harmonies. Tenor, baritone, bass and lead (melody) combine to create chords and sound frequencies not heard in other types of music. Sung correctly, barbershop chords produce a ringing sound not unlike an organ. The ringing notes are not actually sung by anyone but are overtones produced by the interaction of the voices.
At the Wheaton College concert, an audience member commented, “When they hold those notes, it brings tears to my eyes.” Another said, “That’s probably how the heavenly choir would sound if it sang barbershop.”
Singing with the Melodeers actually requires listening skills perhaps more than vocal talent. Unlike church and student choirs, barbershop vocalists singing the same part do not necessarily stand together. Members must learn their own parts cold and blend their voices with those singing the other three parts around them.
Tin ears need not apply. Nevertheless, anyone who derives pleasure from hearing barbershop harmonies has the potential to become a Sweet Adeline, said Melodeers president Dorothy Jurs of Mt. Prospect. Hopefuls are given a voice screening after attending three of the chorus’ rehearsals. As prospective members, they then spend as much time as necessary learning with a “practice quartet.” When they’re ready, they audition.
“For the most part, anyone who gets to the audition stage gets in,” Jurs noted. By that time, the full extent of the commitment required of members is fully apparent. Four or five hours of practice per week outside rehearsal is generally considered the minimum, whether or not a member works outside the home (more than half do).
Once Arns begins a rehearsal, he expects to be able to focus on nuances, not on teaching the songs.
“I practice with rehearsal tapes because I can work with them while I’m ironing, cleaning or driving the car,” said Katie Bratton of Libertyville, who sings bass. She admitted, though, that she has gotten some rather strange looks when she’s driving along, practicing with abandon.
A commitment to the Melodeers is also financial. Dues are $165 per year, payable quarterly, and members must supply their own transportation to competitions and other events. In addition, members are responsible for having their own costumes made, though the material is provided and paid for by the organization to ensure consistency.
The Melodeers are trying to raise $120,000 necessary to take their show to the World Music Conference this fall in Cardiff, Wales, where they are to represent Sweet Adelines International.
Members of the Melodeers range in age from 14 to 85. The group was founded in 1960 and has won 12 regional titles but never the International until now. Because of Sweet Adelines rules, the chorus will not be defending its title this fall. Instead, members will give a performance and technical workshop at the international convention in New Orleans. But that does not mean the Melodeers are giving up on competition.
Chicago area music lovers can watch them tune up for 1997 at the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet on Aug. 26, when they perform in a show called “The Best of Barbershop.” And they’ve already filmed a lead-in for the CBS Morning News scheduled to air Aug. 7. Can worldwide fame be far behind?
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For information on the Melodeers, call Phyllis Sandel at 708-246-0222.
