Snow on Snow: 2-Part Choral Octavo
Words and music by Andy Beck
Item: 00-PO-0006958
$2.05
Minimum order quantity: 20 copies
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Description
Like a cozy sweater on a cold day, this original wintertime poem juxtaposes warmth with chills. Imagine the opening descending motive as the first falling flake and the eventual musical layers as accumulating snow. Each voice part sings in the sweet spot of their tessitura to garner rich choral tone. A harmonically vivid bridge creates contrast and offers a flurry of beauty in the piano, as singers realize the beautiful snowflakes are fleeting, "all too soon they fade away." Delicate yet deep, simple yet stunning. This title is available in MakeMusic Cloud.
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Additional Details
Series:
Alfred Choral Designs
Publisher:
Alfred Music
Page Count:
12
SKU:
00-PO-0006958
More about this title
About the Composer: Andy Beck
Andy Beck directs choral publications at Alfred Music, where he shapes the company's extensive catalog of vocal and choral literature. His compositional output spans more than 450 works across multiple genres, and his pedagogical resources—including Sing at First Sight, Foundations in Choral Sight Singing, and Vocalize! 45 Vocal Warm-Ups That Teach Technique—have become staples in choral classrooms and rehearsal rooms nationwide.
Beyond the page, Beck remains active as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator working with honor choirs and all-state ensembles throughout the country. He earned degrees in Music Education from Ithaca College and Northwest Missouri State University, and his background as a tenor and director of musical theatre informs the vocal writing and theatrical sensibility in his compositions. Since 1992, he has also worked as a studio singer for Alfred Music, bringing firsthand performance knowledge to everything he publishes.
Why we love this
The descending opening motive and gradual layering of voices create the exact sonic image the poem describes—snow falling and accumulating—without ever feeling overwrought or sentimental. Beck writes the two parts in optimal range for each voice, ensuring rich, resonant tone from the first rehearsal, and the harmonically vivid bridge provides just enough contrast to refresh the ear before the final reflection on impermanence.
What to expect
Snow on Snow captures the quiet beauty of winter's first moments, when the world feels both still and alive. The piece moves from delicate wonder to richer harmonic warmth, then gently releases into acceptance of impermanence, creating an emotional arc that feels both simple and deeply felt.
Who it's for
This octavo suits developing 2-part choirs seeking accessible yet musically substantial winter repertoire. Singers with limited reading experience will find success here thanks to well-placed tessitura and Beck's clear harmonic writing, while more accomplished ensembles will appreciate the poetic depth and interpretive possibilities.
How to get the most out of it
- Shape the opening descending motive with a sense of lightness and inevitability; resist the urge to rush, letting each flake fall clearly before the next begins.
- In the bridge section, lean into the harmonic shifts in the piano accompaniment and encourage singers to hear how their parts dance around the richer chords underneath.
- Balance the two voice parts carefully so neither overwhelms; the beauty lies in how they move together, not in any single line dominating.
How to use it
Program this as a centerpiece for a winter concert, or pair it with other snow-and-season themed work to build thematic cohesion. Its accessible length and emotional resonance make it equally suitable for festival competition or an intimate chamber performance.
Skills your students will build
- Singing in optimal tessitura for tone production and ease
- Balancing two independent melodic lines
- Responding to harmonic motion and textural layering in accompaniment
- Interpreting poetic imagery through musical phrasing and dynamics