Down With Love: SATB Choral Octavo
Down With Love Sheet Music Preview

Down With Love: SATB Choral Octavo

As performed by The King's Singers / As performed by E.Y. "Yip" Harburg

Item: 35-DS00410492
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Additional Details
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Page Count: 13
SKU: 35-DS00410492

More about this title

About the Artist: The King's Singers

The King's Singers have shaped the landscape of a cappella choral music for over five decades. Founded at Cambridge University in 1968, the ensemble established itself as the gold standard for tight vocal blend, impeccable intonation, and fearless interpretation across repertoire spanning madrigals to contemporary pop arrangements.

Their approach to standards like "Down With Love" reflects decades of performance experience and an acute sensitivity to how voices can lock together to serve a lyric. For music educators, their recordings offer a masterclass in ensemble discipline and stylistic authority.

Why we love this

The King's Singers bring swagger and precision to this 1930s standard, delivering a reading that sits perfectly between sophistication and singability. Your singers will have a superlative model to study for blend, balance, and how to make jazz vocabulary feel natural in an SATB setting. This is the kind of recording that gets played twice in rehearsal because everyone wants to hear it again.

What to expect

Suave and intelligent, with the warmth of a late-night radio broadcast. The piece carries the wit of its lyric while the harmonies do the emotional lifting, creating space for singers to find joy in the craft rather than dramatic expression.

Who it's for

Any SATB choir looking to program a period-appropriate standard with genuine musicality and sophistication. This works equally well for concert choirs, show choirs seeking one serious piece, or directors building a mixed-voice season that includes non-classical repertoire.

How to get the most out of it

  • Lock the jazz harmony early by having singers match the exact vowel placement on each chord tone. The King's Singers' blend comes from absolute precision, not from blending away individual voices.
  • Shape phrases around the lyric's natural speech rhythm rather than treating bar lines as the primary structural unit. Listen to how the recording breathes between thought-units.
  • Balance the soprano line carefully; it carries the melody but should never sit above the harmonic fabric. The supporting voices need enough presence to anchor the chords without swallowing the tune.
  • Build confidence in the jazz chord vocabulary by having sections rehearse vertically first. Hearing the harmony without the melody removes pressure and builds security.

How to use it

Pair this with other standards or contemporary lyrics to create a "songbook" concert that showcases your choir's versatility. It also serves as an excellent anchor piece if you're building a program around composers or arrangers of the swing era, or simply need a sophisticated opener that resets the room's expectations.

Skills your students will build

  • Jazz harmony recognition and intonation within seventh chords and extensions
  • Lyric phrasing independent of bar-line structure
  • Vowel consistency across chord tones for blend
  • Interpretation of style markings within a secular popular song context

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