Choral Lit

8/10/2019 Choral Lit

1/5

First-Semester Compositions for K-12 Choir

Titles Level Voices Composers/ArrangersVocal skills and

concepts

The Sally GardensChildrenElementary

Unison Benjamin BrittenPhrasingsOpen vowelsEnding consonants

Yesu Ni WanguChildrenElementary

SAB Ruth Morris GraySwahili textCall and response

Listen to My Song Middle school SAB Andy Beck

Call and responseHomophonyEnding consonantsOpen vowels

Domine Deus Middle schoolThree partsSAB

Sally K. Albrecht

Latin textPhrasingsHomophonyComplex meter

Will There Really Be aMorning?

Middle schoolTwo partsSSA

Mary DonnellyGeorge L. O. Strid

Meaningful textHomophonyLeapsEnding consonantsDiphthongsPhrasings

Drink to Me Only withThine Eyes

Middle schoolJunior high

Three partsSABTTB

Lon Beery Ending consonantsHomophonyOpen vowels

There Is No Rose ofSuch Virtue

Junior highHigh school

SATB Stephen CarracioloPolyphonyPhrasingsSuspensions

To Everything There Is aReason

High school SATB Stephen CarracioloComplex meterMixed meterSuspension

People Look East High school SATB Stephen CarracioloEnding consonantsPhrasings


2/5

HomophonyDiphthongs

Let My Prayer RiseBefore You as Incense

High school SATB Stephen CarracioloHemiolasOctave leapsMixed meter

Some Additional Pieces of Value:

Titles Level Voices Composers/ArrangersVocal skills and

concepts

A Mozart CanonChildrenElementary

Three partsSAB

Donald MooreLatin textPhrasingsCanon

RiversongChildrenElementary

Two parts Andy BeckSyncopationsHomophonyEnding consonants

Star DanceElementaryMiddle school

Three partsSAB

Janet GardnerEnding consonantsHomophony

Under Winter Moon Middle schoolThree partsSAB

Andy BeckEntrancesHomophony

Sans Day CarolMiddle schoolJunior high

SATB Stephen CarracioloPhrasingsHomophony

Celebrate and Sing!Junior high

High school

Three parts

SAB

Laura Farnell

Mixed meterEnding consonants

Call and responseHomophonyHush! My Dear, Lie Stilland Slumber

High school SATB Stephen CarracioloTexturePhrasings

Ubi Caritas High school SATB Stephen Carraciolo

HomophonyLatin textFlipped rPhrasings

Christ, Victorious; Christ,Now Reigning

High school SATB Stephen CarracioloPhrasingsPolyphonyLeaps


3/5

Vocal Skills and Concepts:

1.

The Sally Gardens:

Phrasings: conducted, taught by demonstration, and by speaking the text with hyper-

inflection

Open vowels: taught by demonstration, by warm-up descending scale exercise onpure vowels, and by singing while imagining having hot potatoes

Ending consonants: conducted, taught warm-up consonant exercise with [sh], [f],

[ts], [k]2.

Yesu Ni Wangu:

Swahili text: taught by demonstration, by speaking the text with hyper-inflection, by

explaining the meaning of the text

Call and response: taught by demonstration

3.

Listen to My Song:

Call and response: taught by demonstration

Homophony: taught by explaining the role of each voice and by emphasizing movingnotes


[ts], [k]

Open vowels: taught by demonstration, by warm-up descending scale exercise on

pure vowels, and by singing while imagining having hot potatoes

4.

Domine Deus:

Latin text: taught by demonstration, by speaking the text with hyper-inflection, by

explaining the meaning of the text


inflection Homophony: taught by explaining the role of each voice and by emphasizing moving

notes

Complex meter: conducted, taught by explaining beat and meter, and by counting

subdivisions

5.

Will There Really Be a Morning?

Meaningful text: taught by demonstration, by speaking the text with hyper-inflection,

by explaining the meaning of the poem

Homophony: taught by explaining the role of each voice and by emphasizing moving

notes

Leaps: taught by thinking ahead/audiate, by yawning into the note, by holding a noteand ascend/descend when conducted, and by warm-up octave descending/ascending

exercise on [u] and [a] vowels


[ts], [k]

Diphthongs: taught by explaining vowels, by demonstration, and by holding a note

and change the text when conducted


4/5


inflection6.

Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes:


[ts], [k]

Homophony: taught by explaining the role of each voice and by emphasizing movingnotes

Open vowels: taught by demonstration, by warm-up descending scale exercise on

pure vowels, and by singing while imagining having hot potatoes7.

There Is No Rose of Such Virtue:

Polyphony: taught by explaining the role of each voice, by emphasizing moving

notes, entrances of voices, and by listening to other voices (using mixed formation)


inflection

Suspensions: taught by leaning on the dissonance and release on the resolution of

suspensions, and by explaining the concept of suspensions8.

To Everything There Is a Reason

Complex meter: conducted, taught by explaining beat and meter, and by counting

subdivisions

Mixed meter: taught by demonstration, and by counting subdivisions

Suspensions: taught by leaning on the dissonance and release on the resolution of

suspensions, and by explaining the concept of suspensions

9.

People Look East


[ts], [k]


inflection

Homophony: taught by explaining the role of each voice and by emphasizing moving

notes

Diphthongs: taught by explaining vowels, by demonstration, and by holding a note

and change the text when conducted

10.

Let My Prayer Rise Before You As Incense

Hemiolas: taught by explaining beat and meter, by demonstration, and by rhythmic-

warm-up exercises (having a voice on duple meter and another on triple meter)

Octave leaps: taught by thinking ahead/audiate, by yawning into the note, by holding

a note and ascend/descend when conducted, and by warm-up octave

descending/ascending exercise on [u] and [a] vowels

Mixed meter: taught by demonstration, and by counting subdivisions


5/5

Interview Question

Job Interviewer:Can you name for me two or three pieces that you think are particularly well suited for

middle school/jr. high school choirs, and tell me why they are good for this age group?

Me:These pieces are Will There Really Be a Morning(WTRBAM) composed by Mary Donnelly

and George L. O. Strid and Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes(DTMOWTE) arranged by LonBeery. WTRBAMs and DTMWTEs range spans roughly more than an octave (suitable for

changing voices), do not have high vocal demands and stays predominantly in the medium

tessitura(suitable for first semester composition). They also allow for switching of parts and can be

applied to multiple types of choirs (SA or TB for WTRBAM, SSA or TTB for DTMOWTE);

DTMOWTEs low part also has an ossia for singers who can sing the notes. They have meaningful

and beautiful texts; WTRBAM is based on the text of Emily Dickinson which talks about the

yearning for hope and DTMOWTE is based on a poem Song to Celia which talks about marriage.

They can also be used to teach different essential vocal skills, including homophonic singing, leaps,

ending consonants, diphthong formations, open vowel formations, and ending consonants.

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