ACROSS THE WATER
SPRING AND SUMMER 2026
TRADITIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FROM IRELAND AND THE UNITED STATES
​
PERFORMANCES:
Thursday, May 14, Time TBD, St. Paul Episcopal Church, Marshalltown, IA
Friday, May 15, 7:30 p.m. Collegiate Presbyterian Church
June 6 -15 Ireland Tour
​​
LINK TO ACA REHEARSAL VIDEO YOUTUBE PLAYLIST
​
​
STANDING ORDER CHART coming soon
​
MUSIC, NOTES, AND PERFORMANCE RECORDINGS
​​
Stand in That River (Moira Smiley)
Performance Recording - note that we will perform this in C Major and recordings vary between B and C Major
Rehearsal Recordings (in B major) are available for purchase here on Moira Smiley's website
NOTES:
-
Mm. 1-9 and the soprano line of mm. 68-81 and mm. 98- 113 will be duet/solo voices.
-
MM 68 - 81 all voices use the 3-part split assignment as follows: sopranos and altos on the A1/A2/T1 notes and tenors and basses on the T2/B1/B2 notes.
-
MM 98 - 113, sopranos on the alto 1 note, all altos on the alto 2 note.
​
Mouth Music (Dolores Keane/ John Faulkner)
Performance Recording - Keane and Faulkner original
Performance Recording - choral (after procession)
NOTES: All parts use the 3-part split voicing throughout. The SSA and TTB lines are exact parallels of each other.
​
The Road Home (Stephen Paulus)
NOTES:
-
3-part split assignments used in the following places:
-
m. 11, beat 3 for soprano and altos​
-
m. 19, all parts continuing to m. 20 for tenors and basses
-
m. 39 for soprano and altos and m. 39 into the first beat of m. 40 for tenors and basses.
-
-
Last verse solo line (mm. 24- 41) will be Michael Londra
-
Basses - whoever has a low C for the end - use it!
​
Song from the Road (Craig Hella Johnson)
NOTES: Brief three and four part splits throughout!
-
Tenors and basses:
-
3-Part: mm. 43-45, mm. 52-54, mm. 58- 59 (beat 4), m. 68, m. 70, mm. 75 (beat 4) - 80, mm. 83 - 87 (beat 5) - then all tenors on tenor line and all basses on bass line to the end.
-
4-Part: mm. 46-47, m. 69, mm. 81-82
-
Anyone who has a low D, use it in m. 88
-
-
Sopranos and altos:
-
3-Part: m. 51, m. 70, m. 72( beat 4)​ - 76, m. 97 (beats 3 and 4)
-
Mm. 85 -87: 3-part split at m. 85, low part takes the tenor 1 notes for the last two beats of 87 and beats 1 - 4 of 88. Then low and middle parts stay on the alto line until beat 5 of m. 90.
-
4-Part: mm. 81 - 84
-
​
Parting Hand (William Walker)
NOTES: We will sing this in the shape note tradition - singing the solfège syllable first (we'll practice that!) followed by the words. Then we will sing vs. 1, 2, and 4 - the words are in three different places on the page! The recordings available are all in live and boistrous shape-note conferences where this is a traditional parting song. Yes, we will practice a brassier timbre and free, more raw singing, and we will find a healthy and vibrant choral sound somewhere between a lofted sound and the ones that you hear on the recordings.
​
Irish Heartbeat (Van Morrison, arr. Liam Bates)
Performance Recording (original performance of Van Morrison with the Chieftains)
Sheet Music - coming soon
Rehearsal Recordings may be provided by the arranger. We will see!
NOTES: Liam Bates, our composer collaborator in Ireland will be writing a new arrangement
​
Out of Dazzling Darkness (Paul Flynn)
NOTES:
-
Two places for word changes: mm. 22 - 24 replace "this Christmas Day" with "on us this day" and mm. 62 - 65 replace the word "stable" with the word "light."
-
Splits:
-
mm. 6 - 11: 4-part split for tenors and basses​
-
mm. 14 -15: alto split
-
mm. 22 - 25: 3-part split for altos and sopranos
-
mm. 29 - 33 (beat 1): 3-part split for altos and sopranos
-
mm. 36 - 37: 3-part split for altos and sopranos
-
mm. 38 - 41: 3-part split for tenors and basses
-
mm. 42 - 50: tenors and basses who are comfortable to sing the bass line, including the D in m. 49, sing bass. Others sing tenor with all baritones taking the T2 note in mm. 49-50. We'll balance it from there.
-
mm. 45 - 51: 3-part split for sopranos and altos
-
mm. 56 - 66: tenors and basses stay on your lines, splitting as marked.
-
mm. 70-71: 3-part split for altos and sopranos
-
mm. 78 - end: 3-part split for altos and sopranos
-
Last measure: anyone with a low C sing it!
-
​
Will the Circle Be Unbroken (Traditional, arr J. David Moore)
Sheet Music - coming soon
Rehearsal Recordings
NOTES:​
​
Walk a Mile (Pepper Choplin)
Rehearsal Recordings
NOTES: 3-part splits used as follows:
-
Mm. 1 - 4 and mm. 21 - 24: 3-part split assignment for all voices
-
Mm. 60 - 74: tenors and basses move to 3-part split at downbeat of m. 60 with high and middle on the tenor line whether split or unison. Return to tenor/bass lines on the downbeat of m. 75 ("understand")
-
Mm. 62 - 74: sopranos and altos move to 3-part split for beat two of m. 62 and return to soprano/alto lines on the last eighth-note of m. 74.
-
Mm. 77-78: tenor and bass use 3-part split. Altos split A1/A2 for m. 78
-
Mm. 82: sopranos use S1/S2 split
-
Mm. 84 - 87: sopranos and altos use 3-part split with middle and low staying on alto line through m. 87.
-
Mm. 89-end: all parts use 3-part split from beat 2 of m. 89
Adiemus (Karl Jenkins)
NOTES:​ Soprano and alto splits as follows:
-
Letter A and B - all sopranos on the S1 line and all altos on the on the alto line.
-
Letter C and D - Most sopranos on S2 line and most altos on alto line. Small group (TBD) on the S1 line that wants to do some brassy wailing
-
Letter E and repeat of Letter A - small group covers S1 line
-
Letter F - all sopranos on the S1 line and all altos on the on the alto line
-
Letter G to the end - Most sopranos on S2 line and most altos on alto line. Same small group as before (TBD) on the S1 line that wants to do some brassy wailing​
A Celtic Blessing (Liam Bates)
Performance Recording
Sheet Music - coming soon
Rehearsal Recordings may be provided by the arranger. We will see!
NOTES:​
​
Parting Glass (Traditional, arr. Liam Bates)
Performance Recording
Sheet Music - coming soon
Rehearsal Recordings may be provided by the arranger. We will see!
NOTES:​
​
Blazing Sky (Liam Bates)
Rehearsal Recordings
NOTES:
​
Shule Aroon (Ruth Elaine Schram)
Sheet Music is coming soon, but you can see the score here until it arrives
NOTES:
​
The Lake Isle of Innisfree (Sarah Quartel) - TTBB ONLY
Performance recording not available for TTBB version, but here is the SATB version
Sheet Music - coming soon
NOTES:
​
Voice Dance (Greg Jasperse) - SSAA ONLY
NOTES:
​
The Ireland Tour choir may have a couple more pieces that we can sing at the National Opera House concert in Wexford. That music and rehearsal plan details will be coming soon.
​