Wintertime Cheer: SSAA, a cappella Choral Octavo

Althouse's gift for blending historical forms with contemporary harmony shows brilliantly here. The piece honors the madrigal tradition while deploying modern chords and textures that keep the music fresh and engaging for singers trained on current repertoire. The "fa la la" refrain provides immediate audience recognition and joy, while the optional percussion part gives your ensemble a chance to expand beyond pure a cappella sonority.

Wintertime Cheer captures the buoyancy of a holiday celebration filtered through a composer's modern ear. The historic madrigal framework provides familiar scaffolding, while the crisp harmonic language and unexpected dissonances create an aesthetic that feels both warm and intellectually engaging. It's festive without being saccharine.

This piece works well for SSAA or SSAA choirs with solid blend and intonation skills. Singers should be comfortable with contemporary harmonic language and independent part-singing, though the material is accessible to secondary and early college ensembles.

• Balance the fa la las so they shimmer as a cohesive rhythmic anchor rather than overwhelming the harmonic content. The text should dance, not dominate.
• Explore the tonal dissonances Althouse marks as intentional; resist the urge to "fix" them. These moments create the modern sensibility that makes the piece distinctive.
• If using the optional hand drum or tambourine, rehearse it separately first so the percussionist finds their entrance points confidently and adds color without pulling focus from the choral texture.
• Shape the four-part sections with clear phrase direction, treating each arrangement as its own mini-statement rather than a static vertical sonority.

Program this alongside other madrigals or secular Renaissance works to highlight how contemporary composers reframe historical traditions. It also pairs naturally with other Althouse selections or works by similar-minded choral composers. The piece fits winter concerts, holiday programs, or any concert exploring genre and form.

• Singing a cappella with independent voice parts and accurate intonation in modern harmonic contexts
• Interpreting contemporary harmonic language, including tonal dissonances as intentional compositional choices
• Balancing rhythmic text elements (the fa la las) with harmonic integrity
• Flexibility across multiple four-part SSAA arrangements within a single piece
• Coordination with optional percussion accompaniment