Embraceable You: SATB Choral Octavo

Strommen's arrangement captures the song's essential warmth without overshadowing it. The vocal writing sits comfortably in the middle register, the harmonic palette stays true to Gershwin's original, and the piano part provides genuine support rather than competition. This is exactly how a standard should be treated at the high school level.

Tender and unguarded. The melody moves with the ease of natural speech, and Strommen's harmonies feel like they settle around the song rather than reshape it. There's a quiet sophistication here, the kind that comes from absolute confidence in material that already knows how to move people.

High school and early college choirs looking for a piece that teaches both musicianship and restraint. This arrangement works equally well for concert choirs seeking accessible standards and for programs that want to introduce students to the American songbook without overwhelming them.

• Balance the melody between voice parts so the song's contour remains audible even in the fuller passages. The beauty of this piece lies in its singability, not in harmonic density.
• Lean into the legit, Broadway-inflected vowels rather than the operatic approach. This song lives in the American popular tradition and sounds best when it breathes naturally.
• Observe the simple yet effective accompaniment as a guide to tempo and phrasing. The piano will tell you where the rubato lives and where the song needs to flow straight ahead.
• Let the text do emotional work. Gershwin and Ira's lyrics carry the story; resist the urge to add interpretive layers beyond what the words already convey.

Pair this with other Gershwin standards or other songs from the Great American Songbook to create a focused concert segment. It also serves as an excellent transition piece in a program of contrasting styles, offering familiar warmth between heavier contemporary works or classical repertoire.

• Singing legit, Broadway-style phrasing and diction
• Managing sustained lines while maintaining text clarity
• Balancing ensemble blend when multiple voice parts carry melodic material
• Listening across voice parts to maintain the song's overall shape and contour