April 26 and 27 “Germany’s most successful a cappella
export” will be performing in the Barrus Concert Hall at BYU-Idaho.
The group, vocaldente, is made up of one countertenor,
Christopher Grasse; two tenors, Tobias (Tobek) Kiel and Jakob Buch; one
baritone, Johannes (Johnny) Gruber, and one bass, Tobias (Tobi) Pasternack. Tenors
generally sing the lead while countertenors sing the higher melodies, the
baritone the lower melodies, and the bass provides rhythm. With two tenors they are able to switch off
on the lead to provide more variety in performance. They are strictly acoustic, no microphones or
amplifiers are used in performances, and their repertoire is extensive
“covering pop and rock music from the past eight decades” as well as original
compositions. All of vocaldente’s songs are arranged by
members of the group.
Vocaldente has won first prize at several international a
cappella competitions including the Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival in
San Francisco and the International Contemporary A Cappella Competition in
Taipei, Taiwan. They also perform at
over 100 concerts and appearances a year.
Vocaldente represents the best of a cappella performance.
Since they use only their voices, all the melody and rhythm
is provided by their voices, not just the lead with the lyrics. This requires that they train
extensively. As anyone who has
participated in a choir can attest, it is harder to sing without accompaniment
to follow. “How much work and rehearsal
hides behind the required ‘voice blending’ isn’t often taken into consideration
by the audience, but the sound is simply perfect, and everyone hears that,”
said Cellesche Zeitung, a German newspaper, in a review of vocaldente January
2011.
Tickets can be purchased through the BYU-Idaho ticket office
and event dress is required.
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