Who composed 'Belshazzar's Feast' cantata?
Belshazzar's Feast (Walton) Belshazzar's Feast (Walton) 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. In the story of Belshazzar's Feast, the Jews are in exile in Babylon. After a feast at which Belshazzar,
Belshazzar of Cyrus entered Babylon without a battle" (Babylonian Chronicle)—this is presumably the same individual as Gobryas, a Babylonian provincial governor who switched to the Persian side, mentioned by the Greek historian Xenophon. Nabonidus was captured and his life apparently spared, but Belshazzar may have died during the fall of the city. In the Book of Daniel, Belshazzar plays a significant role in the tale of Belshazzar's feast, a variation of the story of Nebuchadnezzar's madness. The story presents what happens when a gentile king does not repent. During a feast, Babylonians eat and drink from the holy vessels of Yahweh's