12-05-2025
Bach Choir/Hill review — Walton's wild feast and a striking new symphony
The Babylonian king Belshazzar, the Old Testament tells us, threw a pretty wild party: a thousand at least quaffing from sacred vessels, plenty of wives and concubines, heady music from cornets, sackbuts, even a 'pleasant harp'. But David Hill, the Bach Choir and the Philharmonia Orchestra went wilder still in the Royal Festival Hall in London during their thunderous account of Walton's irresistible cantata Belshazzar's Feast. The venerable choir, nearing its 150th birthday, numbered nearly 200, so no problem hearing them sing even when the organ roared, ancillary brass rang out from the sides, and the percussionists let loose their gongs, whip or anvil.
Hill, the choir's music director for 27 years, grew more impassioned as the minutes passed, rocking and swivelling at speed
