While the Snow Lay Sleeping: SSA Choral Octavo
Words by John Parker, music by Heather Sorenson
Item: 00-PO-0003357
$1.90
Minimum order quantity: 20 copies
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Description
There is a moment of stillness just before snow falls, when the barren earth lies in wait. That point in time is strikingly captured and depicted in this ethereal contemporary choral. An exquisite piano, a soaring cello, and an expressive choir bring the moment to life with both delicate poignancy and cinematic grandeur.
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Additional Details
Series:
Alfred Choral Designs
Publisher:
Alfred Music
Page Count:
12
SKU:
00-PO-0003357
Instrumentation:
Piano & Cello
More about this title
About the Composer: Heather Sorenson
Heather Sorenson has built an international reputation as a composer and arranger whose music spans both traditional and contemporary idioms, often blending the two into a distinctive artistic voice. Based in Dallas, Texas, she has received commissions from major institutions including Texas A&M University, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation, and Carnegie Hall, where her oratorio EXODUS premiered. Her output encompasses choral, piano, and orchestral works performed in churches, schools, universities, and concert halls worldwide.
Sorenson's contributions to music education run deep. She has taught elementary music at Grace Academy of Dallas, served as an adjunct professor at Baylor University, and led countless master classes and sessions at worship conferences and universities across America. Beyond her compositional work, she regularly conducts at churches nationwide and dedicates her off-hours to benefit concerts supporting nonprofit organizations.
Why we love this
Sorenson writes with genuine understanding of what SSA choirs can accomplish. The piece demands nothing technically impossible from your singers while creating a sonic landscape that feels cinematic and emotionally complete. The inclusion of cello and piano instrumentation elevates a standard choral arrangement into something your singers and audience will remember.
What to expect
The piece inhabits that suspended moment before winter weather arrives, when stillness and anticipation occupy the same space. Ethereal and cinematic, it balances delicate vulnerability against moments of soaring grandeur, creating an intimate yet expansive sound world.
Who it's for
SSA choirs looking for a contemporary piece with emotional weight and sophisticated instrumentation. This works equally well for high school singers with solid musicianship and college or community choirs seeking seasonal repertoire with literary substance.
How to get the most out of it
- Balance the choir against the cello line; the instrumental parts are integral to the texture, not background accompaniment. Coach singers to listen actively to how their phrases weave with the strings.
- Pay close attention to the piano's opening gesture. It establishes the piece's emotional temperature and sets the harmonic foundation for everything that follows.
- Shape dynamics gradually rather than in sudden shifts. The piece's power comes from sustained tension and release, so avoid abrupt changes that break the spell.
How to use it
Program this as a centerpiece for a winter concert, either opening the second half or closing the entire program. It pairs well alongside other contemporary secular pieces and works beautifully as a seasonal showcase for your SSA section's artistry and maturity.
Skills your students will build
- Blending voices across three parts while maintaining independent melodic lines
- Listening to and balancing against obligato instrumental lines
- Sustaining quiet, controlled dynamics without loss of focus
- Shaping long phrases with minimal text repetition
- Responding to contemporary harmonic language and text painting