The Hanfris Quartet

Barbershop music was born in the barbershops of the United States at the end of the 19th century: four voices a cappella, close harmonies and that chord which, when it locks in completely, rings out a fifth voice nobody is singing. In Barcelona, this tradition has a name. Jordi Forcadell (tenor), Juan Bertrand (lead), Gener Salicrú (baritone) and Adrià Sivilla (bass) came together in 2009 after long careers in choirs and vocal groups, and they have been chasing the perfect harmony ever since.

Their rigour has taken them far. They have won the gold medal at the Spanish Barbershop Quartet Championship five times, came fourth at the 2017 European Championship and, in 2015, became the first quartet from southern Europe to compete at the International Championships, in Pittsburgh. Two years later they were back, in Las Vegas. Along the way they have sung in Catalonia, Spain, Andorra, England, France, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United States, and shared the stage with the Big Band Jazz Maresme, the Oriol González Crazy Trio and the musical Shaking Shakespeare, nominated for the Premis de la Crítica.

But a Hanfris concert is no history lesson. The repertoire leaps from rock & roll to jazz and swing, from Broadway musicals to film soundtracks, pop and even Catalan rumba, and between songs the humour does the rest. Three albums tell the story —InterRail (2014), On Air (2017) and Hanfris10— and Barbershow, their current show, proves it: 75 minutes revealing all the secrets of barbershop music, for audiences of all ages. All it takes is one thing: Come on, get happy!