I am partial to those by the Mosaïques Quartet, a period-instrument group whose renditions were recently reissued by Naïve in two boxed sets.
"The nature of the choreography, especially for my part, is almost a step for every count," said Mr. Stiefel, a former New York City Ballet principal whose rendition is loose and electrifyingly jazzy.
The main theme was also a hit for Hugo Montenegro, whose rendition was a No. 2 Billboard pop single in 1968.
Salinger's translator was the renowned Rita Rait-Kovaleva, whose renditions of Kurt Vonnegut were better than Vonnegut's originals, the émigré writer Sergei Dovlatov is said to have claimed.
One of the most promising was Rebekah Lowin, a Columbia undergraduate, whose renditions of "My Heart Was Set on You," a contemporary standard-in-waiting by Jeff Blumenkrantz, and Billy Joel's "Lullabye," delivered in a sweet, light voice, were impressive for their freshness and lack of self-dramatization.
The song was also covered by California garage rock band The E-Types, whose live rendition is part of the Live at the Rainbow Ballroom 1966 album, released in 1998.
Some renditions are more faithful than others.
Most renditions are not like that.
In addition to Mr. Gudahl, whose Kayama makes a seamless pass from charmingly deferential and romantic to charmingly wised up and melancholy, especially notable are Christopher Mark Peterson, whose rendition of "Four Black Dragons" is especially strong, and Joseph Anthony Foronda, who plays three central roles, including the Reciter, or narrator, with humor, gravity and charisma.
It received a two-and-a-half star rating from Allmusic, whose critic Thom Owens said that none of the renditions were "particularly noteworthy".
Yet the renditions were perfect.
