Rejoice

Rejoice begins so quietly it is almost inaudible, with short melodic fragments emerging first in the harp, piano and high strings over a slowly thickening bed of orchestral sound. As the piece unfolds, those fragments multiply and the orchestra gradually fills out, the texture and volume building across two major waves toward moments of full-throated celebration. Bryan draws on her background in both jazz and church music, so listen for harmonies and rhythmic gestures that feel closer to gospel and jazz improvisation than to a conventional symphonic argument, blended into a fully orchestrated concert piece. The overall shape traces an arc from stillness to thanksgiving rather than telling a specific story, mirroring the piece's title and its source in a biblical passage urging believers to rejoice always.

Courtney Bryan composed Rejoice in 2019 on a joint commission from the League of American Orchestras and the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, written for the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, which gave the world premiere in New Orleans in November 2019 under conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto. Bryan, a composer and pianist whose work draws on jazz, gospel and classical traditions, took her title and inspiration from a passage in the New Testament book of Philippians urging believers to 'rejoice always.' The piece has since been taken up by other American orchestras as a concert opener.