For Everything There Is a Season: SAB Choral Octavo

Althouse brings a sophisticated musicality to this sacred text without sacrificing accessibility. The SAB voicing sits naturally for mixed groups at this level, and the emotional weight of the setting will resonate with your audience and singers alike. The VideoTrax option adds a visual dimension that transforms this from concert piece to multimedia experience, making it a standout moment in your program.

Althouse's setting captures the timeless wisdom of the text with warm, flowing harmonies and a reflective quality. The music unfolds with unhurried grace, creating moments of genuine introspection while building toward passages of quiet strength.

SAB choirs looking for substantial contemporary sacred music that programs well in concert settings. This piece appeals to mixed-voice ensembles from high school through community and church choirs seeking material with lyrical beauty and spiritual depth.

• Let the text's natural phrasing guide the breath marks rather than fighting the harmonic structure. Singers who understand what they're singing will sustain lines more naturally.
• If using the VideoTrax accompaniment, rehearse with it early and often so the choir can lock into the tempo and style before coordinating with projected images.
• Balance the SAB texture by ensuring your middle voices (altos) can be heard distinctly. This part carries harmonic weight and shouldn't disappear beneath the sopranos.
• The emotional arc builds gradually, so resist the temptation to sing loudly from the start. Reserve your dynamic range for the climactic moments.

This works beautifully as a centerpiece in a sacred or secular concert, particularly paired with other contemporary choral works. The spiritual content and accessible voicing also make it suitable for concert performances in religious contexts, where the VideoTrax component can deepen the congregational or audience experience.

• Voice independence within SAB texture (singing harmonic parts accurately while hearing other lines)
• Musical phrase shape and breathing in a text-driven setting
• Ensemble balance and blend across three parts
• Interpretive singing that serves the emotional content of sacred text