It’s All About Harmony in Mint Condition

It’s All About Harmony in Mint Condition

By Jodi Nash

Aldous Huxley, the great 20th century writer and philosopher with a dark and somewhat satirical view of the world, once said: “There is no bad day that can’t be overcome by listening to a barbershop quartet. This is just truth, plain and simple.”

Dr. Larry Finkel and his fellow “Mint Condition” singers have been helping people overcome bad days for ten years, harmonizing at festivals, parades, reunions, birthdays, anniversaries, ice cream socials, farmers’ markets, corporate events and, more poignantly, at nursing homes or by the bedsides of families struggling with serious illness.

Dr. Finkel, who has a thriving dermatological practice in Warrenton, sings first tenor, while Ralph Griffith, a retired private investigator, sings lead. At 86, Glen Williamson, who worked at the U.S. Mint most of his life (hence the “Mint Condition Barbershop Quartet”) is their most senior performer, singing baritone. Worth Kirkman, a retired engineer, handles bass.

Barbershop quartets are not just striped-shirt, straw-hatted, bow-tied dudes blithely crooning a tune. They’re serious musicians, who sing a close four-part harmony a cappella without music or lyrics in hand, but with the freedom to interpret rhythm, tempo, style and performance dynamics as they feel.

The Mint Condition singers left to right, Ralph Griffith, Larry Finkel, Worth Kirkman, and Glenn Williamson.

Typically standing in a semi-circle, a quartet will slow down at specific cadence points to emphasize special harmonies or prolong a note. The second tenor carries the melody, with the first tenor harmonizing above the lead, singing the highest part subtly and nuanced, so as not to overpower the lead.

The baritone handles mid-range, usually harmonizing slightly below the lead, but sometimes above it. The bass, the deepest voice of the four, lays a solid foundation by singing and harmonizing the lowest notes. However, when four pitch-perfect voices merge and mingle, an unseeable fifth voice mysteriously materializes out of their combined musicality.

Between them, these four gents have 60 plus years of barbershop experience. Dr. Finkel, a native of Manhattan who sings with a second barbershop quartet (“Rendezvous”) in Fairfax, is the master of ceremonies for the group. With a background in musical comedy, he’s performed with theater groups in Fauquier and Rappahannock counties in both musicals and plays.

Taking Tuesdays off from his practice, he rehearses with both quartets. “I call it ‘Tunesdays,’” he said. “It’s been a great way to cope with an empty nest.”

Married, with three adult children, he enjoys all aspects of barbershop singing.

“It takes days to learn your part, weeks to learn how to sing it with the quartet, and months to learn how to perform it publicly,” he said. “It’s never a negative experience, though singing a wrong note is a personal disappointment.”

The quartet’s show typically lasts from 30 to 60 minutes. They’re adept at figuring out what works in a given venue, on a given day, adapting to their audience. They also spontaneously drop in at local restaurants, where, with the manager’s permission, they stroll table to table.

The origins of “barbershop” are obscure, but commonly thought to have originated in 17th Century England, where barbers kept a stringed instrument for waiting customers to tinker with. This evolved into improv group songs. Those who couldn’t carry a tune shook a tambourine, clapped hands or stomped their feet.

The resultant clamor, or “barber’s music” was a far cry from today’s melodious quartet performances. American barbershop music has its roots in the late 19th century south, born from an African-American cultural tradition of rich fourpart hymns and folk songs.

In 1938 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, true barbershop found its forever home in the formation of the “Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America” (SPEBSQUSA, Inc.), now known as the Barbershop Harmony Society, or BHS.

Barbershop organizations and competitions now exist around the world. Typically all male or all female, times are changing, and mixed chorus quartets now exist.

Though all Mint Condition members have competed at one time or another, these days they sing for pleasure and applause.

“It’s another type of family for us,” Dr. Finkel said. “No competitive pressure, travel, or coaching is involved.”

Details on Mint Condition:Regriff721@yahoo.com.