There Is A Fountain: SSAA Choral Octavo

Patti Drennan's arrangement honors the spiritual weight of this beloved hymn while giving it fresh life for modern choirs. The SSAA setting opens access to groups of varied vocal ranges, and the 14-page score suggests thoughtful part writing that serves both the music and the text without becoming fussy.

Earnest and unguarded. The melody carries conviction without ornamentation, and the harmonic language (rooted in hymn traditions) supports rather than overwhelms the emotional clarity of Cowper's words. There's a quiet strength here, the kind that builds through restraint.

Choirs seeking repertoire that deepens both musical and spiritual engagement. This works equally well for church ensembles looking to expand beyond unison hymn singing, or for concert choirs programming American sacred traditions.

• Attend to the relationship between text and breath. This hymn's phrases align with complete thoughts, so shape your phrasing around meaning rather than melodic contour alone.
• Balance blend and clarity across all four parts. In sacred music, every voice carries theological weight; avoid letting upper voices dominate simply because they sit higher.
• Find the tempo that lets singers breathe naturally and audiences hear each word. This text demands comprehension.

Pair this with other American hymn-based works to create a concert arc exploring folk faith traditions, or use it as an anchor piece in a service of music honoring spiritual poetry. It also works as a season-appropriate selection for community performances where accessibility and meaning matter as much as musical sophistication.

• Singing sustained vowels with consistent tone and breath support
• Balancing individual voice parts within four-part texture
• Interpreting text to shape musical phrasing
• Blending voices across different registers
• Responding to hymn-based harmonic language