Wind on the Hill: SATB Choral Octavo
Words by A. A. Milne, music by Douglas E. Wagner
Item: 00-PO-0008288
$2.40
Minimum order quantity: 10 copies
Please note: Under U.S. copyright law, you must purchase the exact number of copies needed for your ensemble. Printing, duplicating or sharing additional copies is strictly prohibited.
Pickup currently not available
Description
New voicings! A. A. Milne considers nature's mysteries in this inquisitive text about the wind. We feel its presence and experience its effects, but cannot see it or change its direction. This curious sense of wonder is captured in a delightful musical interpretation for singers of any age. Elegant in its simplicity.
Discover MakeMusic Cloud: thousands of interactive titles your students can play along with today.
Sample Audio
1
Audio File
--:--
0:00
0:00
Sample Video
Additional Details
Series:
Alfred Choral Designs
Page Count:
8
SKU:
00-PO-0008288
More about this title
About the Composer: Douglas E. Wagner
Douglas E. Wagner brings three decades of high school music education into every score he writes. A Butler University graduate with both undergraduate and graduate degrees in music, Wagner spent thirty years teaching and administering before committing fully to composition in the 1970s. His output since then has been staggering: more than 3,500 published works across choral, band, orchestral, handbell, organ, piano, and vocal literature.
Wagner's music circulates globally. Over seventeen million copies have found their way into rehearsal folders, concert halls, and broadcast performances around the world. His deep understanding of what works in educational settings shows in every piece. Now based in Indianapolis with his wife Sandy, Wagner continues to be one of the most performed American composers in schools and churches today.
Why we love this
Wagner captures the philosophical curiosity of Milne's text without overcomplicating the music. The voicings sit naturally for singers at any level, yet the harmonic language keeps listeners engaged. This is the kind of piece that sounds effortless in performance but reveals itself as carefully crafted.
What to expect
There's a quiet contemplative quality here, almost like standing outside on a breezy day and noticing something you've never quite paid attention to before. The music mirrors that sensation of awareness without answers, creating space for both singers and listeners to sit with the text's gentle questions.
Who it's for
This octavo works for high school, college, and adult choirs looking for accessible yet artful secular repertoire. The eight-page length makes it manageable for a single concert or festival set without demanding excessive rehearsal time.
How to get the most out of it
- Lean into the text's sense of wonder by allowing singers to shape phrases around the poetic questions rather than fighting for rhythmic precision. The mystery of the wind needs breathing room.
- Balance the SATB lines so that Milne's observations emerge clearly. Avoid letting any single voice dominate; the effect depends on the interplay between parts.
- If you use the recorded accompaniment, rehearse with it enough that singers internalize the harmonic foundation, then pull it back in rehearsal occasionally so the choir owns the sound independently.
How to use it
Pair this with other nature-themed texts or position it as a moment of reflection in a concert program built around poetry in music. Its elegant simplicity makes it an ideal opener or closer, offering a welcome contrast to heavier contemporary works or Broadway arrangements.
Skills your students will build
- Singing with attention to text expression and phrasing rather than mechanical rhythm
- Listening to blend and balance within an SATB texture
- Interpreting poetic imagery through musical interpretation
- Sustaining longer melodic lines with consistent tone quality