Open Rehearsal: The Bach Choir – Belshazzar’s Feast

Programme

The Bach Choir and the Philharmonia Orchestra join forces for an evening of British music full of gripping stories and stunning landscapes.

Walton invokes a huge orchestra, eight-part choir, organ, and two brass bands to transport us to the fabulously wealthy and decadent city of Babylon, where we witness the downfall of its tyrannical ruler. This thunderous ensemble gives way to a solo baritone, accompanied by eerie, whispering percussion, to describe the chilling moment when Belshazzar is accused by a disembodied hand writing on the wall – yes, this is the story that gave us the phrase ‘the writing’s on the wall’.

First, there’s a rare opportunity to hear Delius’s The Song of the High Hills, its wordless chorus adding an ethereal sound to the orchestra. Decades of summer holidays in Norway (and a lifelong friendship with Grieg) inspired this celebration of nature – Delius wrote in the programme for its first performance ‘I want to express the joy and exhilaration one feels in the mountains.’

Architect Antoni Gaudí’s extraordinary La Sagrada Familia cathedral is often referred to as Barcelona’s Unfinished Symphony – and now it has a symphony of its own. Richard Blackford’s tribute to Gaudí’s masterpiece is in three movements which correspond to the cathedral’s three facades – Nativity opens with celebratory fanfares, Passion is full of grief and violence, and Glory builds on a plainsong theme to a rapturous climax. The symphony’s accompanying film highlights the ornate details of the cathedral.