Le roi David, H 37

Le roi David was composed in Mézières, Switzerland in 1921 by Arthur Honegger and is classified as an oratorio or more specifically as a dramatic psalm. The libretto was written by René Morax (1873–1963), and tells the biblical story of King David’s life from the time he was a shepherd, to his conquests in battle, his rise to power, his lust for another man’s wife, his agony over his son’s death, his disobedience to God, and finally to his own death. The work is separated into twenty-seven sections or movements and depends heavily on thematic elements.