Gloria Allelu: Choral Octavo SoundTrax CD

Althouse gives you the accompaniment freedom you need while keeping singers focused on what matters: compelling modern harmony, dramatic dynamic sweeps, and rhythmic energy that feels immediate and alive. The meter shifts stay in the piano part where they belong, so your choir can lock into the pulse without getting tangled in written time signature changes. The included SoundTrax CD transforms rehearsal by letting singers hear exactly how their parts integrate with those distinctive percussion colors.

Gloria Allelu pulses with urgency and dynamism. Modern harmonic color mingles with vast shifts in volume to create a work that feels both liturgically rooted and thoroughly current, grounded by a rhythm section that drives the whole ensemble forward with spicy precision.

Intermediate to advanced choirs ready for contemporary harmonic language and rhythmic sophistication. Directors seeking a sacred work with modern edge and textural interest will find singers engaged by the dynamic landscape and propulsive energy throughout.

• Let the recorded accompaniment anchor your early rehearsals so singers can hear the harmonic movement clearly before independent part-singing becomes the goal.
• Mark the dynamic contrasts in pencil during your first read, then isolate sections where the shift happens most dramatically to build confidence across the full range.
• Use the SoundTrax to rehearse the ensemble's rhythmic precision in isolation; the percussion parts define the groove that will carry singers through longer phrases.

Program this as a centerpiece for a contemporary sacred concert or as a statement of musical sophistication within a mixed program. It pairs well with either classical liturgical repertoire (by contrast) or other modern choral works, and works equally effectively as a concert closer or an opening that signals artistic direction.

• Reading shifting meter without loss of ensemble cohesion
• Responding to dramatic dynamic changes across full ensemble range
• Balancing complex modern harmonic color with clear diction
• Integrating recorded accompaniment cues into live performance preparation