In My Dreams: Choral Octavo

Mealor captures something genuine here: the vulnerability of hope without sentimentality. The piece works equally well for choirs seeking contemporary classical material that doesn't demand extreme range or technical fireworks, making it ideal for mixed ensembles with developing singers.

Introspective and tender. The music inhabits a space between waking and sleep, with harmonic progressions that feel both familiar and slightly unexpected. There's an intimacy here that draws listeners inward, creating moments of stillness within a larger arc of gentle yearning.

Mixed choirs with intermediate to advanced singers who want contemporary repertoire with emotional substance. This works for groups preparing for festival performances, concert programming that aims beyond holiday standards, or directors building a modern classical core collection.

• Shape the opening with restraint. Let the text breathe rather than pushing for emotional impact early on; the piece builds its own momentum.
• Balance homophonic sections carefully so no voice dominates the blend. This music lives in the spaces between the singers.
• Pay attention to vowel uniformity during longer held notes, particularly in the upper register where any tension becomes audible.
• Use the recorded accompaniment to lock in tempo, but rehearse the parts first unaccompanied to build ownership of the harmonic relationships.

Pair this with other contemporary sacred or secular works to create a concert program focused on modern composers. Its intimate scale makes it an excellent closer for a concert or a reflective middle piece that shifts the emotional temperature of your second half.

• Sustaining legit tone through longer phrases without tension
• Balancing individual voice lines within homophonic textures
• Responding to subtle harmonic movement and voice leading
• Interpreting contemporary notation and phrasing marks
• Building musical narrative through dynamic control rather than vocal force