Belshazzar's Feast

Belshazzar's Feast is a cantata by the English composer William Walton. It was first performed at the Leeds Festival on 8 October 1931, with the baritone Dennis Noble, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Leeds Festival Chorus, conducted by Malcolm Sargent. The work has remained one of Walton's most celebrated compositions. Osbert Sitwell selected the text from the Bible, primarily the Book of Daniel and Psalm 137. The work is dedicated to Walton's friend and benefactor Lord Berners. Plot In the story of Belshazzar's Feast, the Jews are in exile in Babylon. After a feast at which Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, commits sacrilege by using the Jews' sacred vessels to praise the heathen gods, he is miraculously killed, the kingdom falls, and the Jews regain their freedom. List of movements Although they are not specified in the published score, there is a clear delineation between sections, as follows: [Introduction] Thus spake Isaiah By the waters of Babylon/If I forget thee O Jerusalem [Transition] Babylon was a great city In Babylon, Belshazzar the King made a great feast Praise ye Thus in Babylon, the mighty city [Transition] And in that same hour Then sing aloud to God our strength The trumpeters and pipers were silent Then sing aloud to God our strength