Pure Imagination: 1st Percussion

Mark Hayes' arrangement preserves the song's intimate, introspective character while giving it the harmonic richness and voice-leading sophistication that choirs thrive on performing. The inclusion of instrumental parts and recorded accompaniment means your singers can rehearse independently and hear exactly how their voices should blend into the whole. This is a piece that feels both immediately recognizable and genuinely rewarding to sing.

Wistful and dreamy, with an underlying current of gentle optimism. The harmonic landscape is warm and impressionistic, occasionally lifting into unexpected colorful chords that mirror the song's invitation to step into imagination. There's an intimacy here despite the inspirational text; it feels less like a Broadway belt and more like someone confiding a beautiful secret.

Choirs ranging from high school to adult ensembles will find this accessible yet musically substantive. The SoundPax designation indicates flexible voicing, making it suitable for groups with varying voice distributions and sizes. Whether your singers know the movie or not, the song's timeless appeal and Hayes' skilled orchestration make it a natural fit for groups looking to expand beyond traditional choral literature.

• Let the melody breathe in the opening phrase. The song's magic lives in its simplicity, so resist the urge to oversing or add unnecessary dynamic swells in the first chorus.
• Balance texture carefully during moments where different voice parts weave independent lines. Hayes' arrangement often distributes the melody across sections rather than concentrating it in one voice; clarity of line matters more than blend here.
• Use the recorded accompaniment in sectional rehearsals to help singers lock their harmonic context, then gradually move rehearsals toward unaccompanied singing to deepen intonation awareness.
• Shape the dynamic arc across the entire piece rather than treating each verse as a separate unit. The emotional payoff comes from subtle intensification, not dramatic shifts.

This pairs beautifully in a concert focused on film music or contemporary popular standards. Consider programming it alongside other Hayes arrangements or in a set exploring how musical theater composers have shaped cinema. The song's introspective quality makes it an effective contrast to more energetic pieces, and its universal recognition can serve as an accessible entry point for audiences less familiar with choral music.

• Balancing independent melodic lines across voice sections
• Shaping longer phrases with subtle dynamic control rather than obvious swells
• Singing in close harmony while maintaining individual line clarity
• Responding to harmonic movement that extends beyond functional progressions