Today, the dancing done by ballet companies in one country may not differ substantially from that done by companies in another. Orchestras that used to have distinct aural identities - a "French sound," for example - are more likely now to sound pretty much like most other orchestras.
"Thinking about this led us to the idea of programming a cappella music," Ross says, "because performance styles of a cappella tend to be very closely related to the region and the people - this kind of singing is unique to those who are singing it."
Certainly no one could mistake, say, Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares, a female ensemble dedicated to Bulgarian folk song, for anyone else. Same for the South African folk group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Or the Paschall Brothers, the Virginia gospel quintet, and Aqsarniit, an Inuit ensemble.
One of the quintessentially American forms of a cappella singing, barbershop harmony, will be included in the festival, too, both in male (Max Q) and female (Four Bettys) versions. The tight harmonies of bluegrass gospel will get a workout from Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. Vintage a cappella doo-wop and pop will come from The Persuasions.
Middle Ages and the Renaissance music will be sampled by a D.C.-based group called Suspicious Cheeselords. The name comes from a lighthearted mistranslation of a Latin motet, Suscipe quaeso Domine. From England comes another a cappella enterprise with an equally delicious name, I Fagiolini ("small beans," in Italian), and a similar emphasis on repertoire 500 or so years old.
Opening the festival will be a female group with a 35-year track record of a cappella singing, Washington's own Sweet Honey in the Rock.
"We'll do many different styles at the concert," says Carol Maillard, "a little bit of everything to show how the voice can be maximized in each genre."
Whether in 19th-century songs, early gospel, or even rap, Sweet Honey is all about unaccompanied singing.
"The human voice can do anything," Maillard says. "The voice was touching you before there was a lyre or a lute, before anyone struck a piece of wood to make a sound. In modern times, everything is so digitalized, electronically enhanced with all kinds of effects. A cappella uses the natural instrument, music that just touches the air. It's straightforward, pure, and amazing."
The festival's closing act will be Manhattan Transfer, known for its close harmonizing in a variety of styles, especially those of the Big Band era and jazz.
