Neighborhood Beat: Bridge Town Sound Barbershop Chorus in Irvington

Guest post by Irvington neighbor Sharon Eldridge.

I attended barbershop chorus and quartet concerts semi-regularly when I lived in Los Angeles several years ago. A friend of mine was in a quartet and in a larger chorus called the Santa Monica Oceanaires. They had concerts and ice cream socials, and I went just to support my friend but found myself charmed by the whole scene. I had not been to a barbershop performance, or thought hardly at all about barbershop, in the almost three years since I left Los Angeles.

Then I got a little flyer in the mail last week about a “late holiday” barbershop concert at Holladay Park Church of God. It was addressed to “Resident,” so they couldn’t have known I was a sleeper barbershop supporter, but I wanted to take them up on the invitation just the same.

The concert was put on by Bridge Town Sound Chorus, a chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS). The 40+-member group is self-described as “energized” and I have to agree. There were about 30 of them up there Sunday night, very animated and singing together beautifully. Like the Santa Monica Oceanaires (the only other barbershop chorus I have to compare them to), Bridge Town Sound is mostly men over, let’s say, 50. There were lots of gray—and many bald—heads, but, I could tell, also youthful hearts.

I expected a lot of standards, and there were some, but their energetic and intense (in a good way) director, John Burri, led them in some beautiful carols, including rich, layered versions of "Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” and “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” The audience was further treated to two quartets, who did two or three numbers each. Home Town Harmony and The Cascade Four (who, interestingly, share one member, who sings tenor in one and baritone in the other) demonstrated what barbershop is all about: classic harmonic intervals, classic tunes and gentle ribbing of fellow singers. Home Town Harmony did a rendition of “Who Will Buy?” from the musical Oliver! – a bit unexpected but extremely welcome by yours truly (I’m a fan). The Cascade Four busted out “Hello Marylou, Goodbye Heart” and “I Believe” (from the ‘50s, they said), with which I was not familiar, but had the classic barbershop-y sound.

The very engaging Mr. Burri led the audience in not one but two sing-along rounds, one a Christmas song (Dickensian-sounding) and the other the “mega medley,” which blended “When the Saints Go Marching In” with a song about saying goodbye to a cowboy, and another song featuring a line, a pole, and a crawdad hole. It was challenging – especially when the parts got further divided and started alternating – but quite fun.

After the Christmas music, the chorus moved on to some more standard barbershop fare but nothing too predictable (like “Sweet Adeline”). They pushed the barbershop envelope further than I’ve seen it pushed with the Turtles’ “Happy Together,” which blew me away. It was fantastically and effectively arranged, many-layered, and beautifully blended. I think I liked it better than the original(!).

Mr. Burri also gave some background and, where appropriate, historical context, for some of the songs they sang. “Silent Night,” I learned, was written in the 1800s and for guitar because, at the time, an organ was unavailable. “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” was written in 1542 for the Guild of Tailors, which I also did not know. I know that hymn well but I didn’t know anything about it and certainly not that it was more than 400 years old.

The chorus concluded the concert with “Smile,” from Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times, which was, perhaps, the perfect ending. They must have thought so, too, because, despite getting a standing ovation, they did not do an encore. I rather appreciated this. It demonstrated, to me, that the concert was not just about them or putting on a show but really about singing. It’s clear how much Bridge Town Sound cares about and enjoys singing, and their enthusiasm is infectious.