The Battle
For the uninitiated, it can be difficult to understand why people love a cappella. Heck, even for those of us who do actively enjoy it, it can be difficult to put into words why we enjoy this art form so. While we’ll never have a truly comprehensive list of everything cool about a cappella, 200 Reasons to Love A Cappella is our best attempt at assembling a list of what makes it great.
Reason #107: “The Battle”
In the preceding edition of 200 Reasons to Love A Cappella, we lauded the 2008 Carnegie Mellon University Originals for their wild and creative choreography. A year before them, Syracuse University Orange Appeal brought similar bravado, energy, and outside the box thinking to their treatment of the spiritual “The Battle.” The guys delivered a level of theatricality that that was ahead of its time and achieved tremendous comedic effect, resulting in one of the most memorable collegiate a cappella performances of that year. For a group that, in that era, had built its name on the backs of classically trained voices, this performance showed the group’s most fun side and earned them a well-deserved spot in the thick of the ICCA Mid-Atlantic Semifinals.
I love it!