SSAA Repertoire

Tina Paulson, SSAA Repertoire Chair

Greetings colleagues! I hope your summer is full of all the activities that replenish and energize you; hiking, swimming, reading, or scrolling through social media for silly dog videos.

Maybe you’re like me and view summer as a time to “clean house”, purge the old things that have stacked up over the year, and make room for the new. 

This summer I tackled my personal/perusal choral library, and it only took me a few moments to get completely immersed in the rabbit hole of everything I have collected over the years.  Working through the mire, I quickly realized I already have everything I need for nearly every aspect of my work. Collected from workshops, clinics, masterclasses, conference sessions- it’s all already in my hands. I found:

  • Sight reading and theory ideas/activities
  • Self assessment tools- for students and conductors
  • Articles on every aspect of singing
  • SO MUCH music in perusal scores…
  • Rep lists I haven’t looked at for ages because it was “easier” to get online and browse…. 

I found myself continually thinking “Oh yeah- I forgot about that!” “Oh- I remember this one now!” I also took the opportunity to recycle scores that I would never program, and what other materials don’t serve me any more as I’ve grown and learned. 

Marie Kondo would have been proud. 

Pulling scores from my treble repertoire folders, I set aside a few pieces I forgot that I knew- ones “from the vault.” From unison to SSAA divided, I offer these as starting points to maybe jog your own memory for pieces you’ve forgotten that you sang or conducted in the past.

The Salley Gardens or The Birds – Benjamin Britten – Unison + piano

Britten is excellent for teaching line, vowels (while using English!) and so much musicality is written into the score. I’ve used both these pieces with middle school treble choirs.

Life Has Loveliness to Sell – Mary Lynn Lightfoot – SA/SSA + piano

With text by Sara Teasdale, I first encountered this piece as a MS student myself, and it never left me. I’ve taught it with beginning SSA choirs at the HS level as a good introduction to part independence and diction/text stress. 

Laudate Pueri – Felix Mendelssohn – SSA + organ/piano

This Mendelssohn is great for intermediate groups, with focus on tone, technique (SO much breath support for long lines), and understanding harmony as both linear and vertical. Mendelssohn is a melodic genius, as well. 

No Time – arr. Susan Brumfield – SSAA +piano

This gorgeous and powerful arrangement has all the best parts of Camp Meeting songs. Intonation is key, as is style- remembering what Alice Parker said: “only 5% of the ‘music’ is on the page.” Accessible for SSAA choirs of all walks of life. 

Ngana – Stephen Leek – SSAA + percussion

Layered rhythm, diverse tone and timbre, and part independence make this a cool choice in programming. It looks easy on the page, but repetition and form can be challenging. 

Il est bel et bon – Pierre Passereau, arr. Norman Greyson – SSAA a cappella

Good old imitative polyphonic texture makes this piece fun for both audiences and singers. Understanding the double meanings in the text, character and expression are key. John Leavitt also has an arrangement of this that is nearly identical to the Norman Greyson version, if you can’t find it in print. 

What Was I Made For? – arr. Jennifer Lucy Cook SSA + piano 

Okay, I just did this one last year with my students, and they LOVED it. I did, too. Heartfelt, poignant at any age for any person, it takes some unexpected twists, giving new context to the original pop song. 

These aren’t representative of everything in the “vault.” As I said, I hope these help you dig into what you already know, jog your memory, and launch you into the fall with some good ideas of your own. 

If you want to share your good ideas with me, I’d love to hear them. Or if you want to know what else I found while I was cleaning things out… like Dr. Charlene Archibeque’s “Qualities of a Successful Choral Teacher/Conductor” or “Helping Your Administrator to Become a Better Evaluator” by Dr. Tom Tatton, just reach out! 

Tina Paulson