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What is unknown about the choruses that performed Pindar’s poems?

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Hear a reading of ancient Greek poet Pindar's first Olympic ode, commissioned by Sicilian prince Hiero — Pindar Pindar's first Olympic ode, its context, and the significance of the victory ode, or epinicion.

Regarding the choruses that performed the odes of Pindar, much of the essential evidence remains lost to history. Because the musical settings composed to accompany his words have not survived, it is impossible to reconstruct the approximate sound of a Pindaric ode.1

Furthermore, scholars cannot determine the specific visual or structural details of the performances. Key unknowns include:

Chorus size: The number of participants involved in a performance is unknown.1
Vocal range: It is unclear what range of voices was employed by the singers.1
Movement: There is no evidence to confirm whether the singers remained static, moved in a procession, or performed specific dances.1
Context: It is not possible to picture the festive occasions that served as the background for these performances with any clarity.1

While the Pindaric ode utilized a complex triadic structure—consisting of a strophe, antistrophe, and epode—that corresponded to the movement of the chorus, the precise nature of these performances remains beyond modern reconstruction.12