From The Sing-Off, to The Barbershop Harmony Society’s International Contests, to the International Championships of High School and Collegiate A Cappella, there may no greater organizing force, and no greater platform for today’s a cappella musician’s than the competition stage.

Perhaps the greatest contradiction in all of a cappella rests in the fact that, despite so much of the genre revolving around competition, it still maintains one of the tightest-knit communities you’re likely to find in all of music.

The idea of community may be what’s most attractive about Abraham Santiago’s Street Corner Harmony, a documentary centered on the cadre of 1950s- and 1960s-era a cappella groups carved a unique niche New York City, Philadelphia and Jersey City.

In poignant recognition to how oft forgotten this unique, pioneering era in a cappella truly is, the documentary includes no video footage from the era of which it speaks, relying on recorded sounds and interviews with the singers decades after their heyday. Nonetheless, listening to the passion with which men speak of their time hearing and performing a cappella can’t help but stir up emotions in any reviewer, regardless of whether he or she was around to partake in that musical era. As Kenny Bank from The Five Sharks said, “I listened to people harmonize out on the street and got goose bumps—I couldn’t believe four or five voices could fill up a space like that.”

One of the most striking commonalities of the a cappella CDs I’ve listened to as of late is how few tracks they have. While I’m all for concision and highlighting the best of your best material, there’s also something to be said for a group that’s willing to lay out a full hour of music over the course of an eclectic collection of 16 tracks. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to reintroduce you to The Haverford College Outskirts.

The latest album from the all-female crew, In Pants encapsulates not only multiple genres, but spans time periods with impressive fluidity. Consider, for example the transition from relatively contemporary “Suddenly I See” to Paul McCartney’s classic “Maybe I’m Amazed,” which includes a sample of a hymn from centuries before, “Amazing Grace.” For those who fear the album might sound dated, rest assured the group is back to Little Big Town, Mika, and Sara Bareilles in the tracks to follow (though they travel back through time for a whimsical take on “Brand New Key” before anyone can say they’re settling for modern-day clichés).

American Harmony is a documentary directed by Aengus James, documenting a year-long journey to the International Championships of Barbershop Singing. The film will air on The Documentary Channel on February 12, 2012 at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET (5 p.m. and 8 p.m. PT)

To explain why American Harmony is so effective, it’s worth taking apart the name. Although the film focuses on an International competition, the stories it portrays are distinctively American. There are four major threads to consider.

When we watch David versus Goliath, most of us root against Goliath for a love of the underdog. But if Goliath actually does take a fall, can we help feeling a twinge of sympathy at the giant’s disappointment for falling short of expectations? For any favorite who has lost and for every bridesmaid who never made it to the altar herself, Max Q has a heartbreakingly familiar story to share. The film opens on the 2005 Internationals where the star-studded quartet is expected to take home gold medals, only to walk away with silver instead. The arc of the film is very much about the foursome’s journey toward redemption. At the fore stand Tony De Rosa, a talented role player who is singing lead for the first time in a high stakes situation, and Jeff Oxley, a been-there-done-that pro with international championship credentials who oozes confidence and hungers to stake his claim one more time as the best in the world.