William Walton
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Sir William Turner Walton was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include Façade, the cantata Belshazzar's Feast, the Viola Concerto, the First Symphony, and the British coronation marches Crown Imperial and Orb and Sceptre.
Christ Church, Oxford, where Walton was a chorister and then an undergraduate
Portsmouth Point by Thomas Rowlandson inspired Walton's overture of the same name.
The Manor House, Ashby St Ledgers, Walton's main base during the Second World War
The view from the Waltons' house on Ischia
Belshazzar's Feast (Walton)
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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.
Rembrandt's depiction of "Belshazzar's Feast" is used on the cover of the vocal score and of many recordings of the cantata