Embraceable You: SAB Choral Octavo

Jay Althouse's arrangement captures the emotional directness of this Gershwin standard while keeping the part-writing accessible for SAB choirs. The touch of Rhapsody in Blue at the end gives singers a moment of harmonic color that feels earned rather than shoehorned in, and the simplicity of the writing means your singers can focus on the lyrical warmth that makes this song endure.

Warm, intimate, and unhurried. The melody unfolds with the ease of speech, and the harmony stays true to American jazz idiom without ever feeling overstuffed. There's a quiet confidence in this arrangement, the kind that lets genuine emotion come through.

Intermediate to advanced SAB choirs looking for repertoire that sits comfortably in three parts without sacrificing musical substance. This works equally well for concert programs, jazz-themed showcases, or singers preparing to encounter more complex Gershwin orchestrations later.

• Balance the alto and bass lines carefully in the opening phrases; they anchor the harmony but shouldn't overshadow the soprano melody.
• Let the text drive your tempo choices. This song breathes, and rushing the opening makes it feel cloying rather than intimate.
• The Rhapsody in Blue moment at the end deserves a gentle tempo shift and slightly fuller tone; it's a small harmonic departure that repays careful attention.

Program this as a bridge between your classical and contemporary selections, or pair it with other American standards to build a cohesive set. It's substantial enough to anchor a choral concert moment but short enough to fit naturally into a varied program.

• Singing jazz-inflected harmony and phrasing
• Balancing melody and accompaniment lines in close voicing
• Shaping long melodic lines with text awareness
• Interpreting harmonic color in 20th-century popular music