Someone to Watch Over Me: Choral Octavo SoundTrax CD

Althouse's arrangement honors Gershwin's melodic genius while making the song genuinely singable for mixed voices. The inclusion of the verse adds emotional weight and context that transforms this from a pleasant pop standard into a piece with real narrative arc and vulnerability.

Tender and protective. The verse establishes a quietly observant mood, almost like someone watching from the wings, before the chorus opens into warmth and hope. There's a sophistication to Gershwin's harmony that elevates sentimentality into something genuinely moving.

Mixed-voice choirs with singers who appreciate the Great American Songbook and can handle music that sits between jazz idioms and classical choral writing. The piece works equally well for treble, lower, or mixed ensembles given that instrumental parts are available.

• Balance the verse carefully so its intimate storytelling doesn't disappear; the chorus will have enough energy to carry itself once you establish this foundation.
• Let the melodic line breathe in the chorus rather than rushing the phrasing; Gershwin's melody rewards space and legit singing.
• Blend the parts in the harmonic sections by listening vertically; jazz-influenced voicings work only when each voice is secure and transparent.
• Use the recorded accompaniment to lock the harmonic context, then gradually reduce reliance on it so singers internalize the song's jazz-inflected rhythmic feel.

Program this as a concert closer or as part of a Great American Songbook set alongside other standards. The emotional arc makes it particularly effective when placed after more energetic pieces, allowing the audience a moment of reflection while still celebrating an iconic American composition.

• Singing jazz-influenced harmony with accuracy and blend
• Phrasing lyrical melody with space and musical intention
• Balancing verse-chorus narrative structure
• Reading and performing in 20th-century popular song idiom