She's Like the Swallow: SATB Choral Octavo
Arr. Carl Strommen
Item: 00-PO-0004616
$2.25
Minimum order quantity: 20 copies
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Description
Carl Strommen has a knack for arranging folk songs, and this arrangement of a Newfoundland love song is certainly one of his best. Simple, yet so effective. No gimmicks, just solid choral writing designed to make your choir sound great. (Note: The SSA edition is gorgeous!)
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Additional Details
Series:
Alfred Archive Edition: Alfred Choral Designs
Publisher:
Alfred Music
Page Count:
8
SKU:
00-PO-0004616
More about this title
About the Arranger: Carl Strommen
Carl Strommen stands among today's most frequently performed composer-arrangers, with his work gracing concert halls, broadcast media, and film scores across North America and beyond. His output spans band, orchestra, jazz ensemble, and choral idioms with equal fluency, and he regularly receives commissions and clinic invitations from institutions seeking his expertise. Strommen holds an ASCAP Standard Writers Award annually, a testament to his sustained creative output and professional standing.
A product of City College of New York's rigorous training, Strommen has maintained ties to academic music through adjunct teaching in orchestration and composition at C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University. He divides his time between Long Island and the Rocky Mountain region, where family commitments keep him grounded outside the professional sphere.
Why we love this
Strommen resists the urge to embellish or overcomplicate. This arrangement proves that a folk melody in capable hands needs nothing beyond clear voicing, tasteful harmonic support, and respect for the tune itself. Your choir will sound polished and musical without wrestling through arbitrary technical demands.
What to expect
A quiet, tender expression of devotion. The Newfoundland origin gives it salt-air clarity and emotional directness; Strommen's setting honors that plainspoken quality while allowing the melody to unfold with warmth and intimacy. By the final cadence, your singers will have connected deeply with the text.
Who it's for
Choirs at the high school and community level who want accessible folk repertoire with genuine musical substance. This works especially well for groups seeking festival or contest selections that showcase vocal blend and ensemble cohesion without extreme range or rhythmic complexity.
How to get the most out of it
- Let the melody breathe by keeping accompaniment voices light and secondary; this is not a texture-based arrangement but a song-driven one.
- Shape the phrases according to the natural speech patterns of the text rather than geometric musical phrasing; the storytelling should feel conversational.
- Balance all four parts transparently; Strommen's writing assumes even distribution of sound across the ensemble, so avoid letting any section dominate.
How to use it
Pair this with other folk-based secular selections to build a thematic program around traditional music across cultures. It also serves admirably as a contest or festival entry, where judges appreciate well-crafted arrangements that avoid novelty and prioritize musical integrity.
Skills your students will build
- Maintaining textural transparency across four parts
- Shaping lyrical phrases with text-informed phrasing
- Blending SATB sonorities in folk idiom settings
- Reading and performing straightforward diatonic harmonic progressions