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Belshazzar’s Feast presented at UNCG Oct. 19

GREENSBORO — The symphony orchestra and chorus at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro will join forces in a 300-member production of William Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast on Saturday, Oct. 19. The concert will begin at 3:30 p.m. in Aycock Auditorium.

English composer William Walton composed Belshazzar’s Feast from 1929 to 1931. It is the musical embodiment of Osbert Sitwell’s texts from the Bible’s Book of Daniel. The passages relate the story of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, who praised the gods of material wealth by drinking from cups stolen from a temple of God in Jerusalem.

After a cryptic warning magically appears on a wall, Daniel is summoned to translate its meaning. He interprets the writing as saying “You have been weighed in the balance and been found wanting.” Later that night Belshazzar is slain.
Reflecting the dramatic nature of the story, the music is “highly percussive” and has “lots of rhythmic energy,” said Dr. William Carroll, director of choral activities at UNCG.

“It may be only 35 minutes long, but it’s one of the most difficult things we’ve undertaken in the choral department … especially so early in the year,” Carroll said. “We wanted to show off the chorus and orchestra with something unusual that not everybody can do.”

The singers were challenged with changing meters and a wide range in pitch that demanded great vocal endurance. In addition, powerful voices were required to balance the sound of the large orchestra.

The School of Music will take the show on the road Nov. 10, when they will perform by invitation at the North Carolina Music Educators Association’s state conference in Winston-Salem.

Belshazzar’s Feast will be preceded during the first half of the program by the UNCG orchestra’s presentation of Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss. Robert Gutter, director of orchestras at UNCG, will conduct.

Tickets are available through the UNCG box office with locations in Aycock Auditorium and the School of Music or by calling (336) 334-4849, weekdays noon to 5 p.m. Prices are $8 for adults, $5 for senior citizens and $3 for students.

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