Sir William Walton
Belshazzar's Feast

BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sir Willard White, bass-baritone
Choral Arts Society of Washington
BBC Symphony Chorus
conducted by
Leonard Slatkin



YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hff9BUXIdJY

MKV High Quality (564mb) with H264 video and FLAC audio - https://mega.co.nz/#!p04nkLTK!UHSpKg7hTnNCfi_rjhKBkSOi91H6kCEjkk-TwkAXJBs

MKV Standard Quality (91mb) with H265 video and AAC audio ~128kbps - https://mega.co.nz/#!g5AFTBob!O0LvTRbMaQ0MQ0OvMqpzVDZjqfTVQ33hPE8ZsIF 05ho

AUDIO ONLY (FLAC) (166mb) - https://mega.co.nz/#!0wIyxSKC!cuzOiKxVLs_9FooGJ2U7SwWX4Xcz1uXhBuTAluj vPWo

WARNING: H265 video. Your system may not be able to handle decoding it, and you may need to upgrade the software you use for playback. If you CAN play it, it really does live up to the promise that it will deliver similar quality to H264 at half the bitrate. Unless you know what you're doing, or you want to play with something that's on the vanguard of technology, go with the H264 version.


In 1947, one hear before his Vienna performance of the work, Herbert von Karajan said that Belshazzar's Feast was "the best choral music that's been written in the last fifty years". Following a commission from the BBC in 1929, Walton originally planneed it as a short work for reduced forces - but over the following two years it grew into a glorious 35-minute cantata for large orchestra, chorus, and baritone soloist. Sir Thomas Beecham, believing that Walton would "never hear the thing again", advised the composer to deliberately bolster the orchestration. The first performance took place in London, conducted by Sir Adrian Boult, on November 25th 1931. Since then, conductors from all over the world championed the piece and it remains one of the most popular of the choral repetoire.

Leonard Slatkin's tenure of Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra was not a happy one. Standards fell through the floor, concert reviews were routinely negative, and there were many reports of conflict between Slatkin himself and the members of the orchestra. He was sacked in 2004 after just four years with the orchestra.

Nonetheless, fine performances did emerge under his leadership and this is one of them. Additionally, Willard White is simply magnificent. The 2002 season was the final season I ever recorded on VHS, and the first in widescreen. If my memory serves, the broadcast was digital so the audio was probably MP2 format at around 256kbps. Bearing in mind what it's "been through" the sound quality is utterly sumptuous. The video - true 16:9 widescreen (recorded anamorphically) - is as good as VHS gets.

My videotape was ominously marked "Belshazzar's Feast - ruined" but in fact, the problem was easily repaired. A short section (little over two seconds) at 12:40 is missing courtesy of what looks like a brief broadcast dropout. I have patched the sound ("Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine") from the 2015 performance of Belshazzar's Feast (again with the BBC Symphony Orchestra) for an almost-seamless effect - I have left the picture artifact well alone as it is comparitively small and not distracting. (I had contemplated patching from the repetition of that line later in the piece, but the harmonies are different, so, you know...)

Enjoy this, another forgotten performance of great music from my archive. :)

TT

Thanks so much !!

Thanks for the video and its soundtrack !

Thank you.

I always enjoyed Mr. Slatkin's concerts. He often spoke before performances and was delightful. Sad to think he did not hit it off with an orchestra. This is a fun piece of music that I discovered in my college years... Finzi pinched some of its 'sound' for his Saint Cecelia Ode. But I'd hardly say it is the finest choral work of any decade. Then again, I'm a tough audience.

Take it up with Herbert von Karajan. ;)

Mr Slatkin is, to me, a great "people person" - but a sub-par musician. I don't know if the BBCSO played badly for him because they hated him, he just didn't mesh with them perhaps he's actually a bad conductor... but I can say that the quality of the musicianship dropped almost immediately following his appointment and began to rise again under Jiř� Bělohl�vek and Sakari Oramo.

I do love this performance, but there are patches of terrible, terrible ensemble even here. I know Walton is a big rhythmic headache for orchestras and choristers alike, and this piece must be one of the worst in that regard... but I hear it happen time and time again with Slatkin. The BBC Symphony Orchestra performed this piece again at this year's Proms with Oramo and the difference is almost frightening.

Thanks a lot!