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The River: 2-Part Choral Octavo

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The River Cover Image
The River: 2-Part Choral Octavo

The River: 2-Part Choral Octavo

Traditional Spirituals / arr. Sally K. Albrecht

Item: 00-43328
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Description
This well-conceived spiritual medley opens gently, builds to its peak "love like an ocean" section, and then sweetly fades to the end. Along the way, tuneful counterlines and unexpected pairings intertwine motives from three favorite traditional spirituals. Light instrumentation on the SoundTrax CD sounds distinctly American.

Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, The River: 2-Part Choral Octavo comes alive with professional accompaniment, adjustable tempo, and built-in practice tools that turn solo practice into real progress.

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Additional Details
Series: Alfred Choral Designs
Publisher: Alfred Music
Page Count: 12
UPC: 038081488707
SKU: 00-43328

More about this title

About the Arranger: Sally K. Albrecht

Sally K. Albrecht

Sally K. Albrecht has shaped American choral music for over four decades as a composer, arranger, conductor, and publisher. Since 1987, she has received the ASCAP Special Music Award annually and has placed more than 600 choral works and 75 full-length musicals in the hands of directors nationwide. Her conducting experience spans major venues including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and The Kennedy Center, where she has led honor choirs and festivals across the country.

Albrecht's deep roots in music education come from her three decades directing school choral publications at major educational music publishers, most recently at Alfred Music. She holds degrees from Rollins College (B.A., 1976), the University of Miami (M.A. in Drama, 1977; M.M. in Accompanying, 1979), and has taught at Oakland University, Jersey City State College, and Meredith College. Her leadership extends beyond the page; she has chaired the Board of Trustees for Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society and in 2021 received the Distinguished Alumna Award from both the University of Miami Frost School of Music and Rollins College. She lives in Wake Forest, North Carolina, with her husband, composer and arranger Jay Althouse.

Why we love this

Albrecht's gift for counterpoint shines here. She weaves three traditional spirituals into a single arc without sacrificing the dignity or singability of any one melody. The emotional trajectory from gentle opening through the soaring "love like an ocean" climax to the tender close gives your singers a real journey to inhabit, and the recorded accompaniment captures an authentic American sound that honors the source material.

What to expect

The piece breathes like a spiritual itself, unhurried and deeply rooted. You hear the familiar bones of beloved hymns and spirituals, yet Albrecht's arranging reveals them in new light, with unexpected harmonies and countermelodies that make singers listen differently to music they may think they already know.

Who it's for

Two-part choirs of all ages will find this accessible and rewarding. It works well for middle school, high school, and community choirs seeking repertoire that honors tradition while offering melodic interest and musical growth.

How to get the most out of it

  • Balance the counterlines carefully during the interweaving sections. The secondary melodies should support rather than compete with the primary tune, even when they seem equally prominent on the page.
  • Use the recorded accompaniment to establish the piece's unhurried opening. It sets a foundation that lets younger singers feel secure while building toward the emotional peak.
  • Shape the "love like an ocean" section as your dramatic heart. The soaring quality only lands if the ensemble has built genuine momentum from the gentle beginning.
  • Attend to the final fade with intention. This is not a rushed ending but a purposeful return to stillness; rehearse the closing measures with the same care you gave the opening.

How to use it

This fits naturally into spiritual or sacred music programming, particularly effective as an opening number that sets a reflective mood for a concert. Its length and emotional arc also suit it well as a standalone feature in a mixed genre program, providing breathing room after more energetic selections.

Skills your students will build

  • Singing in two-part harmony with independent melodic material
  • Balancing a secondary melody with the primary tune
  • Shaping a multi-section arc from opening through climax to conclusion
  • Interpreting spirituals with historical awareness and musical sensitivity
  • Sustaining tone and phrasing across longer phrases

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