What is a cappella music?

When we talk about a cappella music, we mean singing performed entirely without instrumental accompaniment. All musical elements such as melody, harmony, and rhythm come solely from the singers’ voices. But where does this form of music actually come from?

The roots of a cappella music go back a long way. Some scholars even suggest that singing is older than language itself, an ancient form of human communication. The oldest known piece of vocal sheet music dates from around 2000 BC: a hymn from Ugarit (now Syria), dedicated to the goddess of orchards. The oldest complete vocal composition is the Seikilos epitaph from the first century AD, a Greek tomb inscription set to music.

Because musical instruments from this period have also been found, it is difficult to say with certainty whether vocal music was predominantly unaccompanied at that time. However, it is clear that singing without instruments gained popularity during the Middle Ages, partly due to the ban on instruments in the chapel.

Our expression ‘a cappella’ comes from the Italian a cappella, which literally means ‘as in the chapel,’ referring to liturgical musical performances without instruments. In the Catholic Church, strict rules applied until the sixteenth century: instruments were believed to distract from the divine message. As accompanying instruments gradually found a place in the liturgy, ‘a cappella’ came to refer to the traditional, purely vocal performance of religious music. Today, ‘a cappella’ more broadly denotes any vocal music without instrumental accompaniment, whether sacred or secular.

From the late Middle Ages onward, polyphony began to develop: multi-voiced compositions in which different melodic lines sound simultaneously. Whereas harmonies had previously been condemned as frivolous, ungodly, and lustful, and were thought to obstruct the intelligibility of the words, increasing freedom was taken during the Renaissance to experiment with multi-voiced motifs and independent melodies. This polyphony of a cappella music, as it was also called, began to flourish in Europe with compositions by Josquin Des Prez. Because musical notation in classical music was also taking shape during this time, the profession of composer emerged. In addition to Des Prez, composers such as Palestrina and Lassus wrote extensive motets and masses intended for a cappella performance. However, it was not uncommon for this vocal music to be supported by instruments that doubled the vocal parts — often a pragmatic choice to reinforce the voices in large spaces such as cathedrals.

The added polyphony served not only to create auditory beauty but also to enhance the emotional impact of liturgical songs. In the Middle Ages, townspeople developed a desire to experience church services more intensely and to express their faith in a more recognizable way, for which multi-voiced singing proved useful. This can be clearly heard in works such as Lagrime di San Pietro by Lassus, a cycle of spiritual madrigals full of sorrow and repentance that Cappella Amsterdam released on an album in 2020. In Paris, different voice groups were also used for a linguistic addition alongside polyphony: the countertenors sang in the local vernacular, while the existing Gregorian tenor line continued in Latin.

A rich vocal culture also developed in the Eastern European traditions. In the Byzantine rite and Russian Orthodoxy, liturgical music was invariably performed without instruments. Composers such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Leontovych created impressive a cappella works in which spiritual intensity and sonic richness went hand in hand. A contemporary echo of this can be found in Kanon Pokajanen by Arvo Pärt, also recorded on CD by Cappella Amsterdam.

A cappella music is not an exclusively Western tradition. In South Asia, for example, dhrupad, a classical vocal form, is traditionally performed without accompaniment. In Africa, there is the rich Zulu tradition of Mbube, made world-famous by the group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Pygmies sing polyphonic communal songs without instruments, filled with overlapping melodies.

In East Asia, there is Shōmyō, Buddhist chanting performed a cappella. The Balinese Kecak dance and the Māori Haka are also examples of vocal expression without instrumental support. Despite regional differences, all of this demonstrates the universal power and capacity of the human voice.

There is also a strong a cappella tradition in Judaism and Islam. In synagogues, instruments are avoided on the Sabbath, helping to preserve vocal forms of worship. In Islamic contexts, nasheed (hymns) and the adhan (call to prayer) are classic examples of purely vocal music that continue to hold deep religious significance to this day.

So what makes a cappella music so special? For composers, it is a challenging genre. They must creatively work with vocal arrangements and techniques to build an entire sound world without instruments. They make full use of the human voice’s range, from deep basses to soaring sopranos, often creating rich harmonies and subtle dynamics.

Singers performing a cappella need an exceptionally well-developed ear for intonation, rhythm, and balance. There is no instrumental support, so collaboration and careful listening to one another are crucial. In modern a cappella styles (such as beatboxing or vocal percussion), this is complemented by vocal flexibility, using techniques that even imitate instrumental sounds.

For listeners, the beauty lies in the purity of the voice, the refined harmonies, and the direct emotional expression. A cappella music has the power to move us, sometimes all the more so because of what is absent. It offers an often intimate musical experience where simplicity and complexity create space for recognition and resonance, carried by nothing but breath, sound, and human connection.