Reviewing Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast, Part Two

In the previous post I review a Cleveland Orchestra performance of Belshazzar’s Feast. The Orchestra, the Chorus, the conductor were all wonderful. The music wasn’t bad, but nothing notable.

The words were the problem. They have legitimacy in our society because they come from a revered source, the bible. But they were telling a story that justified violence against those who had different beliefs than the story tellers.

There are people in the world today who claim than being sensitive to the feelings of others is “woke” and too politically correct. However, my review was written on the same day that these news items appeared.

A 23 year old woman is taken away at gunpoint from her home in West Gaza. It was midnight. She was asleep. Her elderly parents were forced to be silent and not say goodbye. The soldiers told them that, as soldiers, they could get away with anything as they were at war.

The same words were spoken in World War II against their own ethnic group 80 years ago.

China is arming Russia in its obliteration of Ukraine. And Ukraine is overwhelmed with missile attacks even as its energy infrastructure is being destroyed.

These same scenarios have been acted out before. In all cases, brutal wars are the result.

It’s world events like these that do not give me an optimistic feeling for the future. And it’s why we must search out and eliminate all sources of hate whenever and wherever it appears. Even in music.

Belshazzar’s Feast, a review

I enjoyed a performance of William Walton’s “Belshazzar’s Feast.” This was a few nights ago, by the Cleveland Orchestra.

• Choir performance – spectacular
• Baritone performance – fantastic
• Orchestra performance – their usual excellence
• Conductor performance – exuberant and joyful, and exacting
• Music itself – Most of the time it seemed more like the soundtrack to a Western movie.
• Words – Here, my appreciation plummets. Details below.

The words were are from the bible. This book of books is the basis of a particular ethnic group’s mythology. The story in Walton’s Feast tells of events that justify violence against others. The Babylonians are being punished because they stole items from a Zion temple. And their gods are being beaten by a better god.

The story throws shade on the Babylonians by making fun of their pantheism. The story says Babylonians have a god of gold, a god of silver, and others. In fact, Babylon’s mythology was both more complex and well constructed.

The story references Egyptian mythology. Egyptian faith is the foundation for many biblical beliefs, without credit. Here’s one example. The story mentions weighing the king’s deeds “in the balance” to see if he gets into heaven. This is a an Egyptian standard for determining the judgment of souls.

Worst of all, this story is relevant to the violence going on in Palestine today, 2024. (Please see my part two post for more.) This story justifies violence against those who are different. And it’s common to hear this from those doing most of the killing.

Pass on Walton’s piece if you come across it. If necessary, listen to it without words. Best of all, spurn all religious based story telling that’s used to denigrate others. Especially if it is justifying violence. There are many other better stories for our enjoyment.