Jubilate Deo

Dan Forrest's Jubilate Deo brings to life the global aspect of the traditional Psalm 100 text, "O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands," by setting it in seven different languages and drawing from a wide spectrum of musical influences.

The opening movement sets the ancient liturgical Latin translation of the Psalm in a rather American musical idiom.

The second movement intertwines Hebrew and Arabic in a symbolic gesture of unity between these cultures. Movement three uses Mandarin Chinese in a tranquil setting of the shepherd-sheep metaphor from Psalm 23, while the orchestra evokes the sounds of traditional Asian instruments.

The fourth movement shifts to Africa, setting celebratory portions of the text in Zulu and drawing from African vocal and drumming traditions. Movement five represents Latin America, setting Spanish text to a folk-song style melody and blending traditional folk instrumental sounds with polyphonic textures from the classical choral tradition.

The sixth movement, "Song of the Earth," portrays the Earth itself singing-first wordlessly, but eventually finding its own voice. The finale unites many of the key themes and cultures from previous movements.

Each movement features some characteristics of its language-group's musical culture. The result is a stunning global celebration of joy, as all the earth sings as one, "omnis terra, jubilate!"