Shout the News!: Choral Octavo SoundTrax CD

Albrecht's gift for writing infectious, singable melodies shines throughout this piece; the refrain grabs audiences immediately and sets up a natural arc toward the descant finale. The integration of "Go, Tell It on the Mountain" grounds the arrangement in familiar spiritual tradition while the original material keeps it fresh. Pairing the octavo with suggested choreography (drawn from the When We Sing! DVD) gives your singers a complete performance package that feels polished without requiring extensive staging rehearsal.

Rousing and celebratory, with the momentum of a spiritual revival. The refrain carries an irresistible forward thrust, and the descant finale builds genuine excitement. There's warmth in the gospel-inflected harmonies and an authentic joy that connects the piece to its musical roots while staying accessible and fun to sing.

Church choirs, school choirs, and community ensembles looking for contemporary Christmas repertoire that honors the spiritual tradition while feeling modern and energized. This works equally well for holiday concerts, worship services, and seasonal performances where you want impact without excessive technical demands.

• Establish the refrain as the emotional anchor of the piece. Drill it as a group until all sections lock in on the rhythmic profile and melodic contour, since this is what will catch your audience's ear at the opening.
• Work the descant riff separately with your highest voices before layering it over the full choir. This allows sopranos to own the line and adds clarity when it enters in the final section.
• Use the recorded accompaniment to find your internal groove, especially in sections where the spiritual's call-and-response character appears. Singing against a steady track will help singers stay locked into the swing of the piece.
• If incorporating the choreography from When We Sing!, block out movement cues in early rehearsals so that singing doesn't get disrupted once staging is added. Separating these elements initially gives your choir confidence in both.

Open a Christmas concert or holiday service with this piece to establish energy and engagement from the first moments. Its approachable difficulty and built-in excitement make it a natural opener that sets an uplifting tone for the program. You might also pair it with other spirituals or contemporary sacred music to create a cohesive thematic set.

• Rhythmic independence between voice parts, especially when the descant enters
• Gospel and spiritual style conventions, including call-and-response phrasing and swing feel
• Choral balance in a refrain-based structure
• Integration of movement and singing simultaneously
• Part-to-whole awareness in multi-layered arrangements