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Incantation and Dance (1963)
JOHN BARNES CHANCE
The title of this piece suggests a religious orientation, but not toward any of the established religions of a Western or Eastern culture. To the standard deities one offers prayers. Incantations are uttered in rituals of magic, demonic rites, and the conjuring up of spirits both evil and benign. When the spirit comes and the worshiper is possessed, there is wild and abandoned dancing. The opening Incantation is full of mystery and expectation; wandering, unstable, and without tonality. In the Dance, percussion instruments build a rhythmic tapestry of incredible complexity and drive. The dance grows wild and frenzied. The brass hammer out ferocious snarls and the woodwinds fly in swirling scales. The pretty tune is abandoned to leave a paroxysm of rhythm, a convulsion of syncopation that drives on and on, to the shattering climax of exultation. ThenÑthe dance is overÑ the worshiper is fulfilled.
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