Arthur Honegger:|King David

Arthur Honegger’s Le Roi David – only rarely can this extensive work be heard in German: with the present CD, Rondeau Production releases a unique recording which stands out not only because of its German language, but also its renowned performers. Widely known through his role as a detective in the German TV-series Tatort and through his performance in the Oscar-winning film Die Fälscher, Devid Striesow excels as the narrator in this recording, alongside the actress Irm Hermann, who gives the role of the witch her very own voice. The Junges Ensemble Berlin sing the demanding choir parts and are accompanied by the musicians of the Prometheus Ensemble Berlin: artistic director Frank Markowitsch very deliberately chose this ensemble in order to emphasise one of the unique hallmarks of his performance: “what’s special here, is the work’s instrumentation. Honegger wrote a number of versions; we perform the earliest one: the chamber music setting for ten brass and wind instruments, percussion, harmonium, and celesta”. The timbral inflections of this original version are delightful, very colourful, and intriguing. Honegger re-arranged the work for symphony orchestra only at a later stage.