William Walton's oratorio Belshazzar's Feast (1931) was the final work. It was electrifying. Thrillingly fast tempos, biting syncopated rhythms and knife-edge precision generated sizzling energy and bold drama that celebrated the work's pagan savagery and manic wildness. By contrast, the performers brought sinuous shape and expressive intensity to the passages of pungent lyricism.
Both nice reviews, though both completely miss the theological point in a fairly major way!
The concerts themselves (2 nights) were an absolute blast, and Vladimir Ashkenazy is without a doubt da man. Not to mention that the current choir master, Brett Weymark, has really lifted the Sydney Philharmonia to a very high level.
"Happy is he who taketh your children and dashes their heads against a stone"
If you watch this short piece played by Vladimir Ashkenazy you will find that it's possible to hold your breath for two minutes without noticing. It's an astonishing piece of work. I think the lady backstage may be his wife.
Anyway he conducted our choir in a rehearsal last night. Something about his manner reminded me (and probably no-one else there) of Broughton Knox. Gracious and self-effacing and humble; he congratulated our rehearsal pianist for her excellent work (from where I was sitting, she looked mildly petrified to be playing in front of him) and was generally full of praise and kindness. A humble orchestral conductor is as rare as a chaste NRL player.
If you are interested in seeing Ashkenazy and hearing our choir, it's happening next Wednesday and Thursday night, May 20 and 21. We're doing Walton's Belshazzar's Feast. If you click through on that link you get the text, basically Scripture, mainly Ps 81, Ps 137 and Daniel. The opening words, however, are based on 2 Kings 20:16-18.
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 18 And some of your own sons, who shall be born to you, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
What a moment of horror. (Oddly enough, though, Hezekiah is happy!)
