BCCO presents Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast, Poulenc’s Gloria, and Caroline Shaw’s Watermark Concerto

The Berkeley Community Chorus & Orchestra’s (BCCO) winter concert presents masterworks by three composers: Walton, Poulenc and contemporary American composer, Caroline Shaw.

William Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast premiered in 1931. It is a cantata for baritone solo, chorus and orchestra, with a double brass section. The text is the story of a feast at which Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, commits sacrilege by using the sacred vessels of the Jews, who are in exile in Babylon, to praise the heathen gods. His doom is foretold by a ghostly handwriting on the wall. That night he is killed and his kingdom collapses. The music throughout is strongly rhythmic and richly orchestrated. The rhythms and harmonies reflect Walton's interest in jazz and other popular music pressed into service to tell a religious story.

Francis Poulenc’s Gloria was first performed in 1961 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and it has become one of Poulenc’s most celebrated works. It is scored for soprano solo, chorus and orchestra and its text is the Gloria section of the ordinary mass.

These concerts will include Caroline Shaw's Watermark Concerto, a piece scored for piano and orchestra, which will showcase award-winning SF Symphony pianist John Wilson.

Tickets are free and will be available in December at www.bcco.org
Donations gratefully accepted.

Photo: Bill Hocker