Symphony of Psalms

Photo: Jorge Fatauros
On this photo: Joke Zijlstra, Susan McKee

Choreographer: Jiří Kylián

Praise Ye the Lord
Praise Him with the sound of trumpets
Praise Him with the psaltery and harp
Praise Him with the timbrel
And the dance

But why?

Igor Stravinsky's work was never intended to be danced, it is a strong and important musical statement in which one of the main injunctions, to praise in dance, was not fulfilled.
So, this choreography was made to merely complete the original concept of the text - to praise the Lord with dance. But what is it that must be praised with this physical prayer?
It is more a lament for an imperfect and disunited world in which the suffering and uncertainty of each individual are in ironic dialogue with Stravinsky's religious score.