Selected an off-air video to DVD transfer of Walton's bibical mosaic, Belshazzar's Feast, for late night viewing last night. The performance was originally shown in the splendid Masterworks: Six Pieces of Britain, on BBC 2, 24 July 1999 and exemplify's the dual traditions of northern choral societies and brass bands. This 74 mins documentary includes a full performance as well as rehearsal extracts and discussions of the work and Walton's Oldham background - I did a repertory season at Oldham's Coliseum in 1967 and the landscape was immediately familiar to me, almost half a century later. Rather touched to see the footage of Walton's Litany, composed when he was 14, sung by four female teenage choristers. Delighted to see the irrepressible Susanna joining her husband and presenter, Michael Berkeley in the Facade polka!
The venue for the performance is the splendour of Leeds Town Hall and the programme starts with the Walton's overlooking this view as they fly to the airport. The BBC SO and Chorus and Leeds Festival Chorus are conducted by Andrew Davis, a natural communicator with such huge forces. The architecture and acoustic speaks for itself and the pull- back shots reminded me what I missed by overlooking the recent Ring cycle performances by Opera North and I'm eager to see the filmed Leeds Town Hall performances later this year, although the R3 broadcasts have also been hypnotic. I've attended many Ring cycles but none to match the impact of the Goodall/Mackerras 'experience' several times at the London Coliseum in the early 70s but the broadcasts have fostered the same sense of frisson and I remain totally absorbed with the Andrew Porter libretto translation to guide me through the lengthy monologues.
The venue for the performance is the splendour of Leeds Town Hall and the programme starts with the Walton's overlooking this view as they fly to the airport. The BBC SO and Chorus and Leeds Festival Chorus are conducted by Andrew Davis, a natural communicator with such huge forces. The architecture and acoustic speaks for itself and the pull- back shots reminded me what I missed by overlooking the recent Ring cycle performances by Opera North and I'm eager to see the filmed Leeds Town Hall performances later this year, although the R3 broadcasts have also been hypnotic. I've attended many Ring cycles but none to match the impact of the Goodall/Mackerras 'experience' several times at the London Coliseum in the early 70s but the broadcasts have fostered the same sense of frisson and I remain totally absorbed with the Andrew Porter libretto translation to guide me through the lengthy monologues.
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