William Walton - Belshazzar's Feast; Crown Imperial; Orb and Sceptre

William Walton (1902-1983)

Belshazzar's Feast

Christopher Purves, Baritone

Huddersfield Choral Society, Leeds Philharmonic Chorus, Laudibus

English Northern Philharmonia

Paul Daniel, conductor

11 tracks; 49 minutes

This is a really good release from Naxos. Walton is one of those composers who get thrown around by name but no one really knows very profoundly.

Belshazzar's Feast is an oratorio for baritone, chorus and a huge orchestra with an augmented brass section. It takes as it subject the scene from the Bible in which, at Kng Belshazzar's feast, a hand appears and prophetically writes a doom-laden message on the wall. It is often compared to Orff's Carmina Burana on account of its pulsating drive and barbaric splendour. According to Naxos it is now regarded as the finest British large-scale choral work since Elgar's Dream of Gerontius, which sounds about right.

The album also includes two great marches composed for the coronations of two different British monarchs, Crown Imperial and Orb and Sceptre.

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