Exsultate Cantamos Festivo: Choral Octavo SoundTrax CD

The genius here is the division of labor: Althouse gives your singers rhythmic, accessible material while the piano drives the energy, which means your ensemble can focus on ensemble cohesion and text clarity without wrestling with vocal difficulty. The speech choir section transforms a concert moment into something theatrical and engaging, and the included SoundTrax CD offers two contrasting accompaniment options, so you can shape the performance to your room's strengths.

Bright and celebratory, with a Latin pulse that propels the music forward. The speech choir section introduces an unexpected dramatic moment that breaks from traditional choral texture, creating surprise and immediacy on stage.

Choirs of mixed ability that want to perform something with cultural relevance and concert appeal without tackling complex vocal writing. Directors seeking a piece that energizes audiences and engages singers through rhythm and text rather than range or technical demands.

• Map out the speech choir section during early rehearsals to establish clear diction and rhythmic unison; this spoken passage deserves as much ensemble precision as any sung phrase.
• Balance the vocal lines to let the Spanish and Latin text sing through; the accompaniment will handle the excitement, so resist the urge to oversing.
• Experiment with both SoundTrax versions in rehearsal to determine which brass or Latin arrangement best complements your choir's interpretation and the context of your concert program.

Program this in the first half of a concert to establish an uplifted, rhythmic energy that carries into more introspective repertoire. The multicultural text and stage movement elements make it an ideal opener for concerts centered on world cultures, global themes, or collaborative programming with instrumental ensembles.

• Singing rhythmically secure Latin and Spanish text with correct diction
• Executing speech choir techniques with ensemble precision and clarity
• Balancing vocal parts against a rhythmically active accompaniment
• Interpreting stage movement and staging cues integrated into the score
• Shifting between sung and spoken delivery within a single performance