Have You Heard the News?: SATB, a cappella Choral Octavo

Name: Have You Heard the News?: SATB, a cappella Choral Octavo
Brand: Alfred Music
SKU: 00-23545
Price: 1.65 USD
Availability: InStock

Music by Jay Althouse

Item: 00-23545

$1.65

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Everything you have come to love and expect from a Jay Althouse Christmas spiritual, and a whole lot more. Lively and quick lyrics, solid rhythmic hooks, and refreshing parallel chords fill every phrase, followed by melodic riffs from the men's section. A contrasting middle section gently holds back before the A section returns including a well-written modulation and rousing descant over the final flourish. A great addition to your choral library.

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Series: Alfred Choral Designs

Publisher: Alfred Music

Page Count: 8

UPC: 038081238685

SKU: 00-23545

More about this title

About the Composer: Jay Althouse

Jay Althouse holds degrees in Music Education and Music from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he was later honored as a Distinguished Alumnus. Early in his career, he spent eight years managing rights and licensing for a major educational music publisher and served on the Executive Board of the Music Publishers Association of America.

As a composer, Althouse has over 800 choral works in print, performed regularly across the English-speaking world. He is a writer member of ASCAP and a consistent recipient of the ASCAP Special Award for his compositions. Beyond his choral output, he has co-written children's musicals with his wife Sally K. Albrecht, compiled vocal solo collections including Folk Songs for Solo Singers, and co-authored The Complete Choral Warm-up Book and Accent on Composers. His educational resources for music classrooms include Ready to Read Music, Sixty Music Quizzes, and One-Page Composer Bios. Althouse and Albrecht co-wrote I Hear America Singing, performed by the San Francisco Girls and Boys Choirs at President Obama's 2009 Inauguration. He currently resides in North Carolina and serves on the National Advisory Board of the Folk Art Society of America.

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Why we love this

Althouse delivers exactly what makes his Christmas spirituals so teachable: infectious rhythmic energy paired with achievable vocal writing that keeps everyone engaged. The descant in the final section gives you a genuine moment of architectural payoff without overcomplicating part demands, and the modulation feels earned rather than showy, which means your singers will feel it rather than just execute it.

What to expect

The piece carries the spirit of a spiritual with contemporary accessibility: lively and propulsive, yet grounded in genuine harmonic interest. There's a joyful announcements quality to the opening (hence the title), a moment of restraint that grounds you, and then a confident return that sweeps you into a satisfying conclusion.

Who it's for

This octavo works for choirs with confident SATB balance and the rhythmic precision to lock into its grooves. It suits directors programming a Christmas concert that needs energy and warmth without sacrificing musicality, and it's substantial enough to hold its own alongside more complex holiday repertoire.

How to get the most out of it

Emphasize the rhythmic hooks in rehearsal before diving into harmonic details. These grooves anchor the piece and make the parallel chord motion land with confidence.
Shape the contrast with the middle section intentionally: slow the energy deliberately so the return to the A section feels like a genuine reentry rather than a pause.
Balance the men's melodic riffs in the A section so they cut through without dominating; these lines are textural color, not the main event.
Prepare the descant entrance carefully during the final flourish. Sopranos need security and breath planning so this moment builds naturally rather than feeling tacked on.

How to use it

Use this as your opening statement on a Christmas concert where you want to establish energy and mood from the first piece. Its eight-page length and a cappella format also make it an ideal choice for the second half of a program, where it can anchor a set of spirituals or sacred pieces without requiring instrumental support.