Belshazzar's Feast is acantata by the English composerWilliam Walton. It was first performed at the Leeds Festival on 8 October 1931, with the baritoneDennis Noble, theLondon Symphony Orchestra and theLeeds Festival Chorus, conducted byMalcolm Sargent. The work has remained one of Walton's most celebrated compositions.Osbert Sitwell selected the text from the Bible, primarily theBook of Daniel andPsalm 137. The work is dedicated to Walton's friend and benefactorLord Berners.

In the story ofBelshazzar's Feast, theJews are in exile inBabylon. After a feast at which Belshazzar, theBabylonian king, commitssacrilege by using the Jews' sacred vessels to praise theheathen gods, he is miraculously killed, thekingdom falls, and the Jews regain their freedom.

Although they are not specified in the publishedscore, there is a clear delineation between sections,^[1] as follows:

1. [Introduction] Thus spake Isaiah
2. By the waters of Babylon/If I forget thee O Jerusalem
3. [Transition] Babylon was a great city
4. In Babylon, Belshazzar the King made a great feast
5. Praise ye
6. Thus in Babylon, the mighty city
7. [Transition] And in that same hour
8. Then sing aloud to God our strength
9. The trumpeters and pipers were silent
10. Then sing aloud to God our strength

The music throughout is strongly rhythmic and richly orchestrated. The rhythms andharmonies reflect Walton's interest injazz and other popular music pressed into service to tell a religious story. Despite its jagged rhythms and strident orchestral effects, the work is essentially conventional in itstonality. Walton's biographerMichael Kennedy writes, "diatonicism is at the root of the matter ... stringtremolandi, brass fanfares, and masterly use of unaccompanied declaration work their customary spell."^[2] Kennedy adds that the chilling orchestral sounds which introducethe writing on the wall derive fromRichard Strauss'sSalome.^[2]

• Baritone solo
• Double mixedchorus (SSAATTBB); and Semi-chorus (SSAATTBB)
• 2flutes,piccolo, 2oboes,cor anglais (only if nosaxophone), threeclarinets inB-flat (second doublingclarinet in E-flat, third doublingbass clarinet in B-flat), altosaxophone in E-flat, 2bassoons,contrabassoon; 4horns in F, 3trumpets, 2tenortrombones,bass trombone,tuba;timpani, 3 or 4percussionists (side drum,tenor drum,bass drum,triangle,tambourine,castanets,cymbals,gong,xylophone,glockenspiel,wood block,whip,anvil); 2harps;piano (optional);organ; andstrings.
• Twobrass bands, each consisting of: 3 trumpets, and optionally 2 tenor trombones, bass trombone, tuba.^[3]

Walton struggled with the setting for several years, and it grew from its original conception as a short work for small forces, as commissioned by theBBC, to its eventual form. The invitation had come in a letter of 21 August 1929 from the BBC programme plannerEdward Clark, who asked Walton for a work suitable for broadcasting, written for a small choir, soloist, and an orchestra not exceeding 15 players.^[4] Walton and Clark knew each other, as they had had dealings in relation to the premiere of the composer'sViola Concerto, which was premiered in the same year withPaul Hindemith as soloist.^[5] Walton dedicated the work to his friend and benefactorLord Berners.^[6]

This was an age of gifted amateur choruses, and conductors and institutions dedicated to bringing forward new music, and the Leeds Festival took on the first performance.^[7]

At first the work seemedavant-garde because of its extrovert writing and musical complexity; it is however always firmlytonal although it is scored without a key signature^[8] and passes through manykeys. The addition of the brass bands was suggested by the festival director, the conductorSir Thomas Beecham; the bands were on hand anyway for a performance ofBerlioz’sRequiem, and Beecham said to the young Walton: "As you'll never hear the thing again, my boy, why not throw in a couple of brass bands?".^[9] Under the baton ofMalcolm Sargent, an outstanding choral conductor, it was an immediate success, despite its severe challenges to the chorus.^[10] The work has remained one of Walton's most celebrated compositions.^[11]

The London premiere was conducted byAdrian Boult on 25 November 1931. The youngBenjamin Britten was in the audience.^[6] The work was performed at the ISCM Festival in Amsterdam in 1933.Leopold Stokowski conducted two performances with thePhiladelphia Orchestra in January 1934.^[12] Sargent regularly programmed it throughout the rest of his career, and took it as far afield as Australia, Brussels, Vienna and Boston. Not only British conductors from Sargent toSimon Rattle, but alsoEugene Ormandy,Maurice Abravanel,André Previn,Robert Shaw,Leonard Slatkin andAndrew Litton have recorded the work.^[1] In 1947Herbert von Karajan called it "the best choral music that's been written in the last 50 years".^[13] Karajan only ever performed the work once, in 1948 in Vienna, but it was a performance that moved Walton to tears and he expressed amazement that he could ever have written such a wonderful work.^[12]

On the other hand, the Synod of theChurch of England considered its text inappropriate for performance in cathedrals, hence theThree Choirs Festival did not permit its performance until 1957. TheWorcester Music Festival barred it until 1975.^[14][15]

• Aldous, Richard (2001).Tunes of Glory: The Life of Malcolm Sargent. London: Hutchinson.ISBN 0-09-180131-1.
• Kennedy, Michael (1989).Portrait of Walton. Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-816705-9.
• Lloyd, Stephen (2001).William Walton: Muse of Fire. Boydell Press.ISBN 978-0851158037.
• Osborne, Richard (1998).Herbert von Karajan. London: Chatto & Windus.ISBN 1-85619-763-8.

• 1931 cantatas
• Cultural depictions of Belshazzar
• Compositions by William Walton
• Works set in the 6th century BC
• Works based on the Book of Daniel
• Works set in Babylon
• Works by Osbert Sitwell

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2022