There is, however, prodigious interest for a musician in attempting different genres for himself, in taking an adventure, perhaps with no future, into an unfamiliar region of his art.

In his youth, Roussel found adventure by sailing to exotic lands in the navy; in his maturity, he found it in tackling new genres. It follows, then, that his list of single works in a particular format is long and impressive, as the following sample indicates:

• One opera-ballet, Padmavati
• One harp solo, Impromptu
• One "lyrical tale", La naissance de la lyre
• One guitar solo, Segovia
• One piano concerto, opus 36
• One organ solo, Prelude and Fughetta
• One string quartet, opus 45
• One piece for string orchestra, Sinfonietta
• One opera bouffe, Le Testament de la Tante Caroline
• One cello concerto, Concertino

Many of these singletons rate among Roussel's best works (e.g., Padmavati, the string quartet, Sinfonietta), making us wish he'd written more in each format. Nowhere is this more true than in the powerful and expressive Psalm 80.

The biblical text, which uses the English rather than the French translation, is a desperate appeal of the oppressed people of Israel to Jehovah for comfort and succor. Roussel later set the French words to the same music, but he preferred the English version.

Although the music is in one movement, it falls into four sections that correspond to the movements of a symphony. The first section, an allegro, includes an introduction and a fugue. The second section features an introspective tenor recitative. The third section, an andantino, starts with the soloist accompanied by wordless chorus; Basil Deane considered this one of Roussel's finest inspirations, and I would certainly agree that is the high point of the piece. The concluding movement opens with a change of mood to angry vigor that eventually relaxes to a more tranquil atmosphere that ends with a whispered supplication, "Turn us again, O Lord God of Hosts, and we shall be saved".

In the end, there is only work by Roussel that treats the chorus with justice and sensibility, the Psalm 80 of 1928. In this work, the strongest episode is the evocation of the grapes brought from Egypt. Here the words of the Psalm are given to the tenor, accompanied by a wordless chorus in a mysterious echo of Padmavati. [Hugh MacDonald]

This psalm, one of its composers most distinguished works, had a resounding success in London, just as it had enjoyed at its world premiere in Paris. [??]

Psalm 80, one of the composer's most compelling works, is also one of his most original conceptions. The broad choral effects, the strong contrasts and the full climaxes achieved by simple means establish an affinity with Handel; but Roussel's setting is completely contemporary in spirit.... The composer's vision, his sincerity of purpose, and the consummate mastery with which he realizes his intentions, justify Prunieres's claim that Psalm 80 is among the masterpieces of French music. [Basil Deane]