Written in 1931, the year after Igor Stravinsky’s choral masterpieceSymphony of Psalms, William Walton’s oratorio Belshazzar’s Feastborrows from Stravinsky’s concept, a three part work drawing its words directly from the Bible and utilizing text from the Psalms, the first and last sections echoing the Russian master in musical terms but offering in its key center some of the most creative and distinctive music in the 20thcentury English choral canon. Both works featured in the Canterbury Choral Society’s season opening concert presented on Friday October 2ndat the Civic Center Music Hall in downtown Oklahoma City, the Society joined by Oklahoma City University’s Chamber Choir and University Singers, guest baritone Gabriel Preisser and the OKC Philharmonic.
This show airs Saturday, November 7th, 8pm on Classical 88.7 HD-1.