This Will Be (An Everlasting Love): Choral Octavo SoundTrax CD

Greg Gilpin's arrangement captures the infectious swagger of the Natalie Cole recording without requiring your choir to replicate studio production values. The gospel vocabulary and rhythmic drive feel authentic rather than applied, and the piece maintains genuine musical substance beneath its accessibility. Your singers will want to perform this repeatedly because it sits comfortably in the voice while delivering the energy audiences crave.

The moment the recorded accompaniment kicks in, your singers feel the pull of an irresistible groove. This is music built on momentum: the energy compounds across verses, and the harmonic language speaks in warm seventies colors. There's genuine joy here alongside romantic sentiment, and the arrangement preserves both without winking at either.

Any choir seeking a contemporary secular piece that brings genuine excitement without sacrificing musicality. The gospel style and accessible melodic language appeal to singers across experience levels, from high school choirs to community and church ensembles. This arrangement works especially well for groups comfortable with popular music idiom and rhythm-section-driven accompaniment.

• Emphasize the rhythmic precision in the accompaniment; lock the choir to that groove rather than fighting against it, since the arrangement relies on the interplay between vocal parts and the recorded track.
• Shape the gospel idioms authentically: this means flexible phrasing on the title phrase, allowing slight rubato to land the emotional content rather than strict metronomic delivery.
• Let your soloists own their moments. The arrangement creates space for featured voices, so casting singers with both secure technique and interpretive confidence will pay dividends.
• Lighten the texture in the verse sections to create dynamic contrast with the fuller climactic passages; this prevents the arrangement from feeling one-note despite its high energy.

This arrangement shines as a concert closer or as part of a set exploring love songs across genres and eras. It pairs well alongside both classic soul standards and contemporary pop selections, offering a natural bridge between them. The piece also works as a spring or graduation concert anchor, where the celebratory spirit and universal message resonate with audiences and singers alike.

• Interpreting gospel vocal phrasing and rhythmic flexibility
• Singing against a recorded rhythm section while maintaining choral blend
• Balancing part independence in a rhythmically driven arrangement
• Sustaining energy and rhythmic precision in contemporary styles