Yet another Roi David! But one which is surely worth reviving, for Ernest Amsermet was a contemporary of the composer—indeed, born nine years before—and as a conductor, experienced in dramatic music (for example with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes), and a doughty champion of new music in the 1920s, he is an excellent interpreter of this powerful score. He brings out a forceful and thoroughly committed performance from the youthful choir of the National Church of Vaud, in which the French 'dramatic psalm' text of Rene Morax not only comes over clearly, but is also well projected in meaning. He is fortunate too in having in Stephane Audel a powerful narrator who can encompass the varying moods of this Biblical narrative and makes one's spine tingle in the famous scene with the Witch of Endor (an eerie spoken role from Pauline Martin). The singer who stands out is Suzanne Danco, a memorable artist with a sweet but dramatically flexible voice, but all are equal to the work and the tenor sound of Michel Hamel is idiomatic. The Suisse Romande Orchestra is on top form, too.
The recording goes back over three decades, and of course is in mono, but it sounds very well in the present remastering, and the lowish level of the original LPs has been corrected without paying the price of excessive background hiss. At mid price, this exciting performance of a thrilling work (the ''Dance Before the Ark'', a big set piece, is nothing less than splendid) is a possible first choice among current versions.
Both versions by Serge Baudo are fine too, but Ansermet is even more urgent, and Baudo's 1985 performance, digitally recorded on Supraphon—reviewed in June 1988—is on two CDs. Baudo's Paris account of Le roi David for Accord/Pinnacle dates from 1962 and is the only one of these versions to use the original forces of 11 wind, harmonium, celesta, double bass and percussion; the booklet included gives the text only in French. There are some other differences, principally affecting the spoken text and resulting from the composer's revision of the work from the 'dramatic psalm' of the premiere to a 'symphonic psalm', but each performance works well in its own terms.'