# We're singing Belshazzar's Feast tonight **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2009, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-singing-belshazzars-feast-tonight/497036 "2009-05-20T02:31:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-singing-belshazzars-feast-tonight/497036/1 "2009-05-20T02:31:44Z")
It’s the first of two performances, with Vladimir Ashkenazy conducting. It’s such a tricky [work](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belshazzar%27s_Feast_(Walton)), but tremendous fun to sing. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-singing-belshazzars-feast-tonight/497036/2 "2009-05-20T09:37:22Z")
Huh, first it’s Gerontius and now it’s Belshazzar, and wasn’t it the Vladster last time too? You’re just _trying_ to make me jealous, aren’t you? The best of, dude. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-singing-belshazzars-feast-tonight/497036/3 "2009-05-20T14:01:50Z")
Who’s “we”? I’d never heard of either Belshazzar or Gerontius before moving to the UK, and have sung both of them several times since (you haven’t done Gerontius until you’ve had Sir Andrew Davis at the helm). Amazing works, and I find it sad that they’re not well known in America. I don’t know what Australian choral culture is like, but in the US it’s pretty dismal. The a cappella semi-chorus near the end of Belshazzar is my favorite bit. Knock 'em dead. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-singing-belshazzars-feast-tonight/497036/4 "2009-05-20T19:46:56Z")
So, how has it been, and what is it like working with Ashkenazi? Withhold nothing… ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-singing-belshazzars-feast-tonight/497036/5 "2009-05-20T22:55:30Z")
Last night went extremely well for 99% of the performance. Full house, very enthusiastic audience, choir on fire etc… Then we got to the final Alleluia and Ashkenazy just changed everything that we had rehearsed. His prerogative of course, but it was completely unclear what he did want in his new interpretation. So it ended up being a bit of a shemozzle, sadly, because everything had been going so very well up until that point. I expect that our musical director will have a word with the maestro before tonight’s performance. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-singing-belshazzars-feast-tonight/497036/6 "2009-05-21T00:04:32Z")
I heard this piece for the first a few years ago performed by the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra and Chorus at Blossom Music Center. Amazing work. **Cunctator,** I am envious! I would love to have the opportunity to sing it. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-singing-belshazzars-feast-tonight/497036/7 "2009-05-21T04:33:58Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Huh, first it’s Gerontius and now it’s Belshazzar, and wasn’t it the Vladster last time too? Yes. He’s the chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony, and the Belshazzar concerts are SSO ones, with us fulfilling our role as SSO chorus. Gerontius was the same. Ashkenazy appears to be rather partial to choral music, which is great news for us, of course. The next concerts in our own subscription series are Handels’ _Jephtha_ in July. > [@Gyrate](#): > > Who’s “we”? “We” are the [Sydney Philharmonia Choir](http://www.sydneyphilharmonia.com.au/). > [@Gyrate](#): > > The a cappella semi-chorus near the end of Belshazzar is my favorite bit. Yes, I love this part too. After all of the crashing and banging it’s rather lovely to sing something that’s unaccompanied that the audience can really hear. PDF version of the program available [here](http://www.sydneysymphony.com/event_detail.asp?s=754), under “read the program”, for anyone who’s interested. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-singing-belshazzars-feast-tonight/497036/8 "2009-05-21T09:13:15Z")
Good stuff. I’m with the [BBC Symphony Chorus,](http://www.bbc.co.uk/orchestras/symphonyorchestra/symphonychorus/history.shtml) which is attached to the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Sadly, we haven’t done either Belshazzar or Gerontius for a few years now. Did the late Richard Hickox ever grace your podium? I know he was frequently down in your neck of the woods. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-singing-belshazzars-feast-tonight/497036/9 "2009-05-21T23:35:32Z")
Last night was absolutely spectacular! > [@Gyrate](#): > > Did the late Richard Hickox ever grace your podium? I know he was frequently down in your neck of the woods. Yes, most recently for Haydn’s Creation. A very gifted conductor. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-singing-belshazzars-feast-tonight/497036/10 "2009-05-22T23:22:24Z")
A pretty good review from yesterday’s _Australia_n: > [@](#): > > 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. > > Baritone soloist Peter Coleman-Wright was a commanding presence, focusing on clarity of expression over burnished richness of colour. The well-blended choral singing was splendid, with the choristers displaying excellent diction and dynamic control. Walton employs immense forces in this oratorio. Ashkenazy took great care over balance, allowing detail to emerge through the often-colossal sheets of orchestral and choral sound without diluting their opulent effect. > > Only the “writing on the wall” section disappointed, lacking the necessary sinister eeriness. Otherwise, this account of Belshazzar’s Feast was the exhilarating culmination of a concert that displayed Ashkenazy’s interpretative strengths in different repertoire.