Isn't This A Lovely Day (To Be Caught In The Rain?): SSA Choral Octavo

Ed Lojeski's SSA arrangement captures the conversational warmth and rhythmic sophistication of Berlin's original without demanding excessive technical facility from your singers. The voicing sits comfortably for developing groups while the jazz and swing elements give singers real experience with style and interpretation beyond classical technique. It's the kind of standard that sounds instantly recognizable to audiences yet teaches singers something genuine about phrasing and ensemble balance.

There's an almost nostalgic intimacy here, as if someone is humming a favorite memory in your ear. The melody floats effortlessly over jazz chords that shimmer and shift, creating moments of harmonic richness that feel both familiar and gently sophisticated. The rain in the title becomes less about the weather and more about the simple pleasure of good company.

This arrangement works beautifully for high school and college SSA choirs seeking material that bridges concert repertoire and popular song standards. It's equally suited for groups that already work with jazz phrasing and those encountering swing style for the first time.

• Treat the lyric as spoken rhythm. Berlin's text sits so naturally on the melody that overly legato singing flattens the charm; lean into the conversational phrasing and let the punctuation guide your breath.
• Balance the inner voices carefully in the homophonic sections so the harmonic color emerges without covering the top line. This is where jazz arrangements often lose their sparkle.
• Settle into a relaxed swing feel rather than chasing tempo. The piece benefits from breathing room and a sense of ease, particularly in the sections that quote the original piano voicing.

Pair this with other Berlin standards or American songbook selections for a concert exploring the roots of American musical theater. It also serves as an accessible entry point for introducing jazz vocabulary and swing interpretation if your choir is new to the style. The seven-page length keeps rehearsal demands reasonable while the performance value is immediate.

• Conversational phrasing and text interpretation
• Jazz and swing feel; rhythmic flexibility beyond straight notation
• Part independence in a jazz harmonic context
• Balancing inner voices while maintaining melodic prominence
• Chord recognition and harmonic listening in jazz voicings