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WELLINGTON BRASS BAND Features…

Performing William Walton William Walton (1902–1983) Belshazzar’s Feast alongside, Benson Wilson – baritone, Orpheus Choir and Hutt City Brass.

Walton is a bit of an outlier; he was largely self-taught in composition, although he had mentorship from both Ernest Ansermet and Ferruccio Busoni. He did, however, sing professionally, both in his father’s choir and the choir of Christ Church. This work, commissioned by the BBC in 1929 as a short piece for a modest instrumental and vocal ensemble and two soloists, evolved into an oratorio requiring a huge orchestra, four percussionists, organ, harps, two antiphonal brass bands and a choir capable of singing difficult syncopated parts with shifting metres and tricky harmonies. With these forces, Belshazzar’s Feast tells the Biblical tale of the fall of Babylon, using a libretto by Walton’s friend Osbert Sitwell. The oratorio begins with the enslaved Israelites lamenting the fall of Jerusalem and predicting Babylon’s doom. The middle section describes a raucous feast. Finally after the dramatic recitative when the hand of God writes a warning on the palace wall, there’s a hymn of thanksgiving for Belshazzar’s downfall.

~Orchestra Wellington

…but all shall be well
Thomas Ades (1971–)

Commissioned work
Briar Prastiti (1992 -)

Violin Concerto
Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)
Amalia Hall - violin

Belshazzar’s Feast
William Walton (1902–1983)
Benson Wilson – baritone
Orpheus Choir Wellington
Wellington Brass Band
Hutt City Brass