University of Virginia Library

Need French Text

My reservations about the
quality of the performance are
minor in light of Donald Loach's
fine interpretation of King David.
The instrumental ensemble played
splendidly, but it had a tendency to
swamp both the soloists and the
chorus on occasion. I am also
bothered by the fact that King
David was sung in English.
Honneger set a French text, and his
rhythms and accents, particularly in
the choruses, were governed by the
peculiar rules of French vocal
declamation. However, the use of a
translation must have been
considered a necessity because of
the spoken narration. How strange
it is that audiences which will sit
through narrative recitatives sung in
a foreign language without
complaint, balk at listening to a
spoken narration in a tongue that
they do not understand.