HONEGGER, Arthur 1892-1955

King David Symphonic Psalm in Three Parts, After a Drama by Rene Morax ... Vocal Score English Version by Edward Agate. [Piano-vocal score].

Lausanne: Fœtisch Frères (S.A.) [PN F. 6001 F.], 1952.

Folio. Original publisher's ivory rinted wrappers. [1] (dedication), [2] (blank), [3] (title with woodcut illustration by "J.M."), [4] (contents), 5-93, [i] (blank) pp.

With occasional performance annotations in pencil.

Wrappers slightly worn, stained, and creased; small price label to lower. Dedication leaf with ink marking covered by small label to upper outer corner.

"Le roi David ... in its original version as a 27-movement incidental score for Morax's drame biblique, was composed in two months, between February and April 1921. The première of this staged version (11 June 1921) was followed by 11 further performances, and the favourable response from audience and critics encouraged Morax and Honegger to produce a concert version for larger forces [1922]; apart from rescoring, the music remained unchanged. With a narration provided by Morax to link the items, this ‘psaume symphonique’ was widely performed: in Paris, for instance, it was mounted on consecutive nights for three months. The work secured Honegger's international reputation, and he was soon dubbed ‘Le roi Arthur’. A series of tonal and thematic correspondences unite the work, whose dramatic impact is ensured by the tightly controlled relationship between the dramatic and musical emotive peaks." Geoffrey K. Sprat in Grove Music Online.

"A member of Les Six, [Honegger's] serious-minded musical aesthetic was entirely different from that of others in the group. He developed unusual musical and dramatic forms in large-scale works for voices and orchestra, and was one of the 20th century's most dedicated contrapuntists, with a clear indebtedness to Bach. His language is essentially tonal but characterized by a highly individual use of dissonance... While he undoubtedly benefited from the immense publicity accorded to ‘Les Six’, his own distinctive musical language attracted widespread acclaim even before his music for René Morax's Le roi David (1921) catapulted him to international prominence." op. cit.

Item #28373

Price: $25.00  other currencies