Ancient Chant and Jubilation

Performance Notes ***** Ancient Chant and Jubilation is intended for a string ensemble with at least one full year of instruction. The opening Chant section and the following Jubilation section at m. 19 will be perceived by the listener as slow and fast, but actually both sections are in the same tempo. The note values at m. 19 are halved so as to give the impression of moving twice as fast. The music is written this way to avoid the confusion of a tempo change with a very young string ensemble. If a more experienced string group is playing, the opening section may be played with some flexibility in tempo, but care should be taken not to go too slowly because phrasing will suffer. Likewise, measure 19 may go a little more briskly than l'istesso tempo, but not so fast as to make the second section seem unrelated to the first. Measure 30 should be played with much vigor. Get as much bite from the low strings as possible, while being careful not to allow young players to ignore tone quality for the sake of volume. Ancient Chant and Jubilation provides an excellent stimulus for a multicultural discussion on the characteristic sound of the pentatonic scale in the music of pre-modern civilizations. Thank you for choosing this composition. I trust you and your students will find it instructive and enjoyable. Sincerely, Joseph Compello, 2024