Stephen Foster was the first great American songwriter, and Jack Halloran has proved to be one of the foremost arrangers of American songs for choirs, creating a most unique and definitvely American choral sound. Camptown Races is a perfect example of this highly successful pairing of Foster and Halloran. An opening fanfare, full of harmonic color, sets the stage for Foster’s clip-clop tune. The horse race story then unfolds, embelished with tasty choral outbursts and flashy harmonic twists. The closing brings back the fanfare and builds even more spectaluarly, only to fade away as if the horses are heading back home.