The Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players would be a welcome addition to the New York music scene regardless of repertoire because of the consistently high quality of their presentations. But what makes them a particular treat is that they tend to concentrate on rarities. On Monday at the Good Shepherd Church, the team offered that most rare of rarities, a popular work re-created in its original version.

Igor Stravinsky composed “L’histoire du soldat” for whatever instruments he could muster in Switzerland during the Great War. Like Olivier Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time,” written in prison camp during the next war to end all wars, the work is spare by design, partly due to the paucity of timbral choices at its creation but, more significantly, as an acoustical metaphor for brutality. Both works are concerned with the end of the world, Messiaen’s being inspiringly hopeful, due to his deep Catholic faith, and Stravinsky’s fatalistic with more than a touch of gallows humor.

Like Ravel’s Bolero, “L’histoire” was envisioned to include dancers, but how often is it ever performed that way? Jupiter factotum Mei Ying explained in her opening remarks that her musicians insisted on performing the piece respecting the wishes of the composer, and so she hired choreographer Takehiro Ueyama to dance with a partner, Jill Echo. I would not presume to judge the quality of this terpsichorean endeavor but, as a naïf, I found it fascinating, combining a smooth grace with impressive athleticism and contrasting fluid movement with marionette-like motions reminiscent of other of Stravinsky’s efforts. What I can state with confidence is how the inclusion of the dancing altered the audience’s perception of the music. Those of us who know it only from the suite have no sense of how the paroxysms of instrumental color truly shine when accompanying live kinesis.

The narrator can function alone or as one of a trio of thespians. Here, Thomas Buckner did a fine job of creating three distinct voices — four, really, as the devil alters his speech when in disguise. He tended to speak in pitch when the instrumental music was martial, but was often inaudible in the louder passages, a problem ameliorated by the issuance of the text in the program. As a total experience, these players created an engaging piece of theater.

The music itself was well played, with two of the instrumentalists deserving special mention. Vadim Lando is an exceptional clarinetist and handled his solos extremely expressively. Violinist Ilya Kaler is steeped in the Russian tradition and was suitably sardonic in his passagework, varying his tone when the soldier was playing and when Old Nick had his turn.

The work had its premiere under the great conductor Ernest Ansermet, but modern performances often miss a good bet by attempting to communicate without a leader. Just as the Berlin Philharmonic players did earlier this season, the Jupiterians dispensed with a guiding hand and sometimes produced a rather wayward ensemble sound. Trumpeter Louis Hanzlik — a Brahmsian, no doubt — had some problems with articulation at the opening of the Royal March but made a quick recovery. Overall, this was solid playing, but not as tight as the Berliners had been just two months ago.

Bassoonist Frank Morelli anchored the rhythm section and was also featured in the first half of the program, performing in the delightful “London” Trio of Franz Joseph Haydn for flute, violin, and his instrument, and enjoying himself immensely in a circus-style pastiche by Amadeo Rasetti, the Trio for Piano, Flute and Bassoon from 1799.

This must be the year for “L’histoire du soldat” in New York, as Alan Alda will be directing it at the 92nd Street Y in April. Even a Stravinsky hater like me can appreciate its infectious rhythms and colorful writing.