Written in 1923, this five-minute work shows us the thirty-year old composer

using a language closer than ever to his companions of the group The Six,

Milhaud in particular. It is a chant or hymn for orchestra, opening with a

bright and simple melody in major mode accompanied by dissonant and

polytonal accompaniment. A more relaxed section follows in which

woodwinds explore a happy melody over a strange background of discordant

sounds of strings and other instruments. The intensity builds up to bring back

the first theme. The work reaches a slightly more dissonant climax just before

a slowing down of the tempo signals the end.

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