Sometimes, composers create something that goes far beyond the scope of their original brief. One famous example of this was Belshazzar’s Feast by William Walton, which was composed in 1931 after it was commissioned by the BBC.
In this video, our Musical Director David Hill explains how Belshazzar’s Feast went from the commissioning brief of ‘a small choral work’ to one of the more expansive pieces in the repertoire, complete with an eight-part choir, a huge range of percussion instruments and an enormous brass section. That’s quite the increase! The famous conductor Sir Thomas Beecham had something to do with it – watch the video to find out how.
We can’t wait to perform this ‘small choral work’ live with the help of the Philharmonia Orchestra (complete with all of the added percussionists and brass section mentioned before) – we’ll also have David Hill and Christopher Purves joining. Book your tickets here.