HONEGGER, Arthur 1892-1955

Le Roi David Psaume symphonique en trois parties d'après le drame de ... René Morax Partition pour Chant et Piano Klavierauszug mit Deutschem Text in Freier Nachdichtung von Hans Reinhart. [Piano-vocal score]

Lausanne: Fœtisch Frères (S.A.) [PN F. 5990 F.], 1952.

Folio. Original publisher's ivory wrappers printed in red and black. 1f. (recto dedication, verso blank), 1f. (recto title, verso contents in French), [5]-93, [i] (contents in German) pp. Text in French and German.

Wrappers very slightly worn. Minor creasing to corners.

"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 #28592

Price: $40.00  other currencies