Like almost all of Arthur Honegger’s output, the “dramatic psalm” Le Roi David is rarely performed now. It was first conceived in 1921 as a four-hour dramatic spectacular, involving spoken dialogue, solo and choral numbers and dance, using a text based on historical and biblical sources. Honegger was drafted in at the last moment to provide the score, partly on Stravinsky’s recommendation. The show, in Mézières, Switzerland, was a huge success and made Honegger’s name, but it proved far too costly to stage elsewhere. Instead, Honegger reworked the score, replacing the swaths of dialogue with a more concise narration, but retained the 17-strong instrumental scoring, with its wind band, keyboards (piano, harmonium, celesta) and percussion.
He later made a full-orchestra arrangement, but it’s the stripped-down version of Le Roi David, first performed in 1923, that conductor Daniel Reuss opts for in this wonderfully clear, crisp recording. Dramatically and musically, the whole work is a model of economy, taking just over 70 minutes to tell the story of David, from his rise to power as king of Israel, subsequent fall from grace and punishment for adultery, to his death, in 27 numbers that alternate the brief stretches of spoken narration with set pieces, hymns, psalms, songs and dances. The music is punchy and often astringent, ranging stylistically from plainchant to hints of early jazz in the soundworld of early neoclassicism. The predominance of wind instruments gives it an unmistakable tang that contrasts with supple and expressive vocal writing.
The work is far removed from conventional notions of what a biblical oratorio is. Reuss’s performance is no-nonsense and direct, with excellent contributions from the Suisse Romande players and Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne. There’s suitably restrained narration from Christophe Balissat, with Athena Poullos a bit more histrionic in the other spoken role of the Prophetesse; Lucie Chartin, Marianne Beate Kielland and Thomas Walker make the most of their solo vocal numbers, too.
