Otoño

Otoño! This one is about autumn! With a combination of English and Spanish, it teaches translations and pronunciations of several Spanish words, specifically otoño/autumn, las hojas/the leaves, verano/summer and invierno/winter.

In a cliché Mexican flavor, this arrangement includes a traditional rhythm section peppered with Latin percussion and a small string section. It is written in a 2-part voicing, but can work very well as a unison piece.

We begin in unison with the first chorus and verse one. (Part 1 is fairly low in range leaving room on top for part 2, mostly in thirds.) When we repeat at measure 9, part 2 joins in. The outro is a little back and forth duet thing to the end. Though the choral dynamic is only mezzo forte throughout, it needs to be "snappy" and somewhat energetic.

There is an isolated mix of part 2 on our web site for ease of teaching and learning. We've also included a pronunciation guide for the Spanish lyrics. (See box on page 78 for details.)