Capella is a genre of music that does not use instruments, but uses voice itself to emulate the sounds of instruments. A wide range of music genres has been attempted in this style and it definitely is challenging in terms of harmonizing.
In a Symphony or Orchestra, Wind instruments, Bowed String instruments, Brass instruments, Percussion instruments are all included along with Vocals are played in harmony. The Symphony family is as large as seventy to hundred musicians. Pieces are specifically written and they are usually of longer duration than a song.
In a Concerto, an instrument takes the lead with other musicians donning a supporting role. A Chamber orchestra is a smaller version of Symphony Orchestra with up to fifty musicians. Depending upon the occasion, pieces and size of stage number of musicians and the format of a concert is decided.
All kinds of artists suffered terribly with the pandemic hitting globally. Lock down protocols did not allow musicians to get together for a performance or even practice. Yet, it did not stop musicians from bringing their music to the public. Social media platforms and mobile phone technology enabled the artists to continue to engage in their profession. Artists recorded their talents and sometimes performed Live as well.
Realization dawned that the lock down may not be ending anytime soon. Audiences and art lovers working home were hungry for their favorite shows. Capella and Symphony artists came up with great ideas to reach their fan base. Many models of Capella and Symphony emerged and were employed.
Individual pieces were recorded at homes using bare minimum technology and put together carefully to create the symphony effect. Many Capella artists also created visuals similarly. Instrumental version of Capella even though it is not a new concept, the lock down brought more such beautiful expressions of music to the forefront. Some musicians who could play multiple instruments did that - played all the instruments themselves, recorded it and combined it using technology to bring in a new experience. Even though these kinds of attempts were done before, the lock down brought more such beautiful expressions of music to the front.
I had done an instrumental version of Capella a few years ago with the evergreen song Thumbi Vaa by Ilayaraja sir. It created a wave on YouTube and was well received. During the lockdown period, I created a few more instrumental versions of Capella and performed 1st Violin, 2nd Violin, Viola, Cello myself. The response was amazing in social media and the video was widely circulated.
Later this year, I also brought together nine artists - M S Viswanath String Quartet Project - and we did a couple of albums. Hamsadhwani to Mozart which is a journey through different genres - traveling from Carnatic music to Western Classical - hit 50K views just on YouTube overnight.
Musicians all around the world took advantage of the technology and kept working at their thing in spite of live interactions with their fan base and audiences. Music lovers all across the globe continued to enjoy and relax with their favorite artists in their new avatars. "One man String Quartet" - is only possible for someone who can play multiple instruments, has to be harmonized using technology and can only be presented virtually - yet, it is here to stay and enthrall the viewers. All these talented artists have helped people stay sane during this pandemic.
It is definitely an interesting times!!!
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