CASA - the contemporary a cappella society - CD Review: University Of Oregon's Divisi's "Undivided"

CD Review: University Of Oregon's Divisi's "Undivided"

Written by Sean Dargie

Tuesday, 21 March 2006

How can anyone not like a group that starts their album using the “one, two, three, three” from the Tootsie Pop commercials? I liked it so much I forgave this group from the University of Oregon for using the stereotypical “never gonna get it” break down that comes standard with most four wheel drive, power window, all female a cappella groups. Of course it didn’t hurt that the breakdown was tucked away in the middle of a great opening number.

Other such features on this year’s model include octave dropped bass, stylish leather studio production, all terrain vocal percussion and anti-lock arrangements. Speaking of which, I want to mention something that is becoming more and more elusive in our little section of the musical landscape; simplicity. There is nothing complicated about any of Divisi’s songs. At the same time nothing is boring either. A number of factors contribute to this but the biggest one that stands out to me is their use of space.

“What do you mean? There are like fourteen girls and they’re all singing most of the time! How is that space?”

True, but the space I’m referring to is compositional rather than orchestrational. Next time you listen to an album from any group in any genre count how many “ideas” are happening at the same time. Your basic trifecta will consist of the melody, bass and percussion. Other ideas may include counter melodies, harmonies and a plethora of ostinatos. Basically, anything that you find yourself singing along with as an independent part makes up one idea in a musical conversation. Where there are too many ideas floating around no one gets heard and everyone gets confused. However, when a few good ideas are repeated and developed and explored from new angles the conversation is more memorable and comprehendible. If you’ll notice, major works that use symphonic orchestras nearing a hundred members will only have three or four ideas going on at any one point. Divisi has what appears to be a solid grasp on this concept as evidenced by adding more harmonies and colors to spice up their music rather than another variation of “jow now jigga jigga” to fill an otherwise enjoyable rest.

Here’s another thing that impresses me; they sound comfortable singing. Think about that for a second. They aren’t straining to hit super soprano parts because there is too much stuff going on in the lower octave to be heard. (Hint: arranging fewer ideas will prevent the concern about being heard above the din.) Most everything they sing sounds like it sits right in the middle of their ranges and therefore sounds effortless.

Worthy of mention is the fact that there are two original songs written, arranged and soloed on by their creators, Lisa Forkish and Suzie Day. Forkish wrote the pulsing ballad “Solid Ground” with a catchy and simple hook. Day created “Here to Stay”, an uplifting pop-y song about new love. The cool thing is that I didn’t know they were originals until after the first couple of listen throughs when I looked through the liner notes. So what that means is that the performance and production seamlessly fit in with the rest of the album without a noticeable drop in quality. So good job there.

You’ll have to make your own opinions on the music they chose for the album but I highly recommend that you check “Undivided” out and pay special attention to how they made their music.