Item Detail
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12033
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0
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0
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English
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Harmony in four parts : barbershop music and Mormon culture in northern Utah
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Logan, UT
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Utah State University
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Master's thesis
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Beginning with the history of barbershop music in general and specifically in Utah, this thesis demonstrates that the Mormon religion and culture in northern Utah created a climate that fostered the growth of barbershop music. The barbershop lifestyle, including the music, performance, camaraderie, and cooperation by barbershoppers, parallels the Mormon traditions of vocal music and harmonic collaboration, beginning with the pioneers' expedited building of the Salt Lake valley in 1847 and continuing through the popularity of contemporary a cappella groups. This thesis explores how and why barbershop music intersects with Mormon culture in Utah. Because barbershop music relies on the cooperative effort of individual singers and Mormon culture can be defined with the image of the beehive, which symbolizes industry and cooperation, the theme of musical and social harmony is present throughout this study.