May Sunshine Light Your Way: 2-Part Choral Octavo

$2.25 USD

May Sunshine Light Your Way: 2-Part Choral Octavo

Name: May Sunshine Light Your Way: 2-Part Choral Octavo
Brand: Alfred Music
SKU: 00-11643
Price: 2.25 USD
Availability: InStock

Music by Sally K. Albrecht and Jay Althouse

Item: 00-11643

Need it now?

Buy Digital Version

$2.25

Shipped

One moment…

A touching ballad of parting, benediction-like, in the tradition of an Irish blessing. Basic choral writing...use it to teach phrasing, diction, or virtually any choral technique. The ideal concert closer; could become your choir's traditional final number. Another winner from a top team of choral writers.

Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, May Sunshine Light Your Way: 2-Part Choral Octavo comes alive with professional accompaniment, adjustable tempo, and built-in practice tools that turn solo practice into real progress.

Open in the Player

Jump straight in and assign it today.

Start Your Free Trial

Open this title and explore the full library in minutes.

No sample audio found.

No sample videos found.

Series: Alfred Archive Edition: Alfred Choral Designs

Publisher: Alfred Music

Page Count: 8

UPC: 038081118833

SKU: 00-11643

More about this title

About the Composer: Sally K. Albrecht

Sally K. Albrecht has shaped American choral music for over forty years, first as a publisher and editorial director at major music houses, then as a prolific composer whose catalog now exceeds 600 published works. Her credentials as both a clinician and conductor span some of the nation's most prestigious venues, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, where she has led honor choirs and brought her distinctive approach to choral sound and movement. Since 1987, she has been a consistent recipient of the ASCAP Special Music Award, recognition of her output and influence.

Albrecht's formal training merged music with the performing arts; she holds degrees from Rollins College, the University of Miami's Frost School of Music (both M.A. in Drama and M.M. in Accompanying), and taught music at institutions across the country before settling in North Carolina with her husband and frequent collaborator, composer Jay Althouse. Her recent honors, the Distinguished Alumna Award from both Rollins and University of Miami, plus her leadership role with the Omicron Delta Kappa honor society, reflect a career built on both artistic achievement and mentorship.

Show moreShow less

Why we love this

Few octavos work as effectively as both teaching tool and concert moment. This one does both, offering clear harmonic writing that lets you isolate any choral technique while maintaining enough musical substance to move an audience. Pair it with Althouse's sure harmonic sense, and you have a piece that sounds polished after modest rehearsal yet rewards deeper attention to phrasing and text.

What to expect

Like a gentle hand on your shoulder as someone leaves. The writing unfolds with quiet inevitability, rooted in the Irish blessing tradition but shaped by modern choral writing, warm, unrushed, and deeply sincere without ever straining for emotion.

Who it's for

Choirs working toward a cohesive sound and looking for repertoire that teaches while it performs. It suits developing ensembles and experienced groups alike, scaling naturally based on the attention you give to choral technique.

How to get the most out of it

Shape the melodic line through longer breaths than the lyric phrasing might suggest; the blessing structure asks for spiritual sweep, not conversational rhythm.
Treat diction as the primary vehicle for meaning. With Irish-inflected text, clarity on vowels and final consonants carries the benedictory weight.
Balance the two parts so the upper line floats without drowning out the harmonic foundation; this piece's impact depends on hearing both voices equally.

How to use it

Reserve this as your final number on a spring or graduation concert; its reflective character and benedictory arc make it the natural moment of release after more dramatic repertoire. It also works beautifully as a closing piece to a themed program on text and meaning, where its clean construction demonstrates how much impact comes from word choice and phrase shape.