Psaume 62 - Sheet Music for Baritone and Orchestra Leguerney, Jacques

Jacques Leguerney's vocal music was to a large extent inspired by his admiration for the singing of Gérard Souzay. The Psaume LXII de David, commissioned by Souzay for the Festival de Menton, was completed on July 7, 1954. Souzay performed it on August 17 of the same year at the Parvis Saint-Michel in Menton. Fernand Oubradous conducted the Orchestre de la Société des instruments à vent. The work was recorded on tape and broadcast on July 13, 1954 by the Chaîne Nationale under the title Gala de musique française. Leguerney later dedicated this work to French contralto Nathalie Stutzmann. The premiere led to very positive press reviews.

Another performance took place on July 17, 1956. Roland-Manuel programmed it for his broadcast Plaisir de la musique on the Chaîne Nationale with baritone Pierre Mollet and the Orchestre de Radio-Strasbourg under the direction of Fritz Münch (the brother of conductor Charles Münch). According to the I.N.A., the recording was not preserved in their archives.

This edition was taken directly from Leguerney's manuscript of the score, which was apparently also used for a performance. We believe that this source was used by the conductor for the premiere in Menton, if not for both this performance and the later radio broadcast. There are several pages of corrections, also in Leguerney's handwriting, which have been pasted into this manuscript conductor's score. Our edition is faithful to this work as it was performed under the composer's supervision, and we are confident that these corrections and/or revisions correspond to his wishes.

Musik Fabrik will also publish a piano/vocal score of the Psaume, to be used as a study or rehearsal score. Leguerney never expressed that this work should be performed in its piano reduction, which we found among his papers after his death in 1997. The orchestral score (for 1(Pic)221/2100/Pk/Percussion/Strings) is available. The parts are available from the publisher for a rental fee.