Walking In The Air (from The Snowman) (arr. John Leavitt): SSA Choral Octavo

Leavitt's SSA arrangement captures the soaring, almost ethereal quality of the original without losing Blake's gift for a memorable melody. The flexibility of the SSA voicing makes this accessible for many choir levels, yet the arrangement respects the piece's inherent elegance. Programs that need a contemporary holiday selection beyond the expected carols will find this strikes the right balance between familiar and fresh.

The piece carries a dreamy, nostalgic quality, evoking the sense of wonder and flight at its narrative core. Harmonically warm yet slightly contemporary in color, it feels like gazing out a frost covered window at something magical. The overall mood is tender without being syrupy, making it genuinely moving rather than sentimental.

This arrangement works for intermediate to advancing SSA choirs and mixed ensembles that can accommodate the voicing. It suits holiday concerts where you want something recognizable but musically substantial, and it's equally at home in secular winter programs as it is in traditional Christmas shows.

• Shape the line with long, connected phrases rather than marking every bar line; the melody wants to float, not march. Think of it as a single breath across multiple measures.
• Layer the voices carefully during divisi passages to ensure each part has presence without overpowering the overall texture.
• Allow the tempo to breathe slightly in moments of repose, particularly around cadences, to give singers time to settle and listeners time to absorb the moment.

Open a holiday concert with this to set a contemplative, elegant tone before moving into more robust seasonal fare. It also serves as an effective contrast piece in a mixed program, providing a quiet moment that lets audiences reset emotionally. Consider pairing it with other contemporary holiday selections or film-based arrangements to create a thematic set.

• Sustaining legato lines across phrase boundaries
• Balance and blend in divisi voicing
• Dynamic control in music with minimal textural change
• Interpretation of contemporary choral writing with minimal text repetition