Track List
\nPart I
\n1. Introduction
\n2. The Song of David, the Shepherd
\n3. Psalm: All praise to Him\u201d
\n4. Song of Victory
\n5. March
\n6. Psalm: \u201cIn the Lord I put my faith
\n7. Psalm: \u201cOh had I wings like a dove.\u201d
\n8. Song of the Prophets
\n9. Psalm: \u201cPity me, Lord!\u201d
\n10. Saul\u2019s Camp
\n11. Psalm: God, the Lord shall be my light\u201d
\n12. Incantation of the Witch of Endor.
\n13. March of the Philistines
\n14. Lament of Gilboa
\nPart II
\n15. Song of the Daughters of Israel
\n16. The Dance Before the Ark
\nPart III
\n17. Song: Now my voice in song upsoaring\u201d
\n18. Song of the Handmaid
\n19. Psalm of Penitence
\n20. Psalm: \u201cBehold, in evil I was born\u201d
\n21. Psalm: “O shall I raise mine eyes unto the mountains?”
\n22. The Song of Ephraim
\n23. March of the Hebrews
\n24. Psalm: \u201cThee will I love, O Lord\u201d
\n25. Psalm: \u201cIn my distress\u201d
\n26. The Crowning of Solomon
\n27. The Death of David<\/p>\n
Program Notes
\nIn 1921 the Swiss playwright Rene Morax asked Arthur Honegger (1892-1955) to compose music for a play based on the heroic figure of King David. The original version of King David took more than four hours to perform and was a spectacle with multiple spoken roles and only incidental music for chorus, soloists, and chamber orchestra. A subsequent version lasting little more than one hour was introduced in 1923. In this version the spoken parts were reduced to one narrator, which in effect caused the music to become central and created a need for a subtitle, \u201cSymphonic Psalm,\u201d to be added to the work. It is this latter version that will be used in today\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n
King David consists of three large sections which follow the major events in the biblical story of David \u2013 his youth as a shepherd, his battle with Goliath, the enmity of Saul, David\u2019s being crowned king, his love for Bathsheba, the rebellion of his beloved Absalom, David\u2019s death, and finally the crowning of his son Solomon as the new king.<\/p>\n
Honegger successfully wedded a number of different stylistic influences to create the work\u2019s powerful musical impact. From time to time (the overture is an example), the composer employed Hebraic melodic forms, or used choral writing that is polyphonic in texture, recalling Handel\u2019s treatment of the choir. Many of Honegger\u2019s melodies are clear, simple, and very appealing, much like popular folk tunes, and they show the human voice off to its very best advantage. Honegger employed many pictorial and programmatic effects that bring the text vividly to life, and even used some of the most advanced compositional techniques of the time \u2013 irregular rhythms, sharp dissonances, and polytonality (two keys at the same time).<\/p>\n
Part I begins with a focus on the dichotomy between hope and despair. The prophet Samuel proclaims that out of God\u2019s rejection of Saul would emerge a more powerful ruler whose name was David. The chorus, representing the nation of Israel, sings in praise of this ruler-to-be. Goliath\u2019s entry is signaled by a short, instrumental fanfare, and the chorus announces victory over the accompaniment of timpani rolls. After a rousing march, the victory chorus is repeated. The conflict that ensued between David and Saul climaxes with the Witch of Endor scene, and David\u2019s closeness with God is expressed in four psalms that precede this incantation. The final movement of this section, \u201cLament of Gilboa,\u201d uses women\u2019s voices in a vocalize style, twisting and turning around a central note, to symbolize the mid-eastern custom of wailing.<\/p>\n
Part II consists of two numbers, a festive song for soprano solo over a women\u2019s choral ostinato, and an extended choral setting that celebrates the crowning of David as king. This \u201cDance before the Ark\u201d can best be described as a huge mural that depicts large unison gestures between the chorus and orchestra, simple and straight-forward rhythmic patterns, chromatic figures, responsorial singing between men and women, an angelic voice predicting the birth of Solomon and a joyful \u201cAlleluia\u201d that moves from key to key with as much grace as a Baroque melody by Bach.<\/p>\n
The opening chorus of Part III suggests Honegger\u2019s early exposure to Lutheran chorales. The orchestral accompaniment in \u201cPsalm of Penitence\u201d is strikingly similar to the repetitive rhythms of Eric Satie. The melodic outline of this number re-occurs in \u201cBehold, in evil I was born,\u201d but Honegger changed the meter from a complex, triple division to a simple, duple division. The martial quality of \u201cMarch of the Hebrews\u201d forms a stark contrast to the atonal opening of \u201cIn my distress.\u201d In the final number Honegger proclaims David\u2019s death by using the same \u201cAlleluia\u201d melody that closed Part II, in combination with a slower moving chorale-like melody. The piece ends on a tone of radiant joy and even caused the self-critical Honegger to state that the final result was \u201cin some degree what I hoped for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Notes by Michael O\u2019Neal and Hal Simmons<\/p>\n
Technical Information:
\nRecorded March 2007. CD released January 1, 2008 by aca Digital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Arthur Honegger’s symphonic psalm detailing the life of David.<\/p>\n