#notesfromthebeach : Sibelius and Belshazzar
1907, the year Sibelius published his orchestral score of Belshazzar’s Feast, marked the beginning of a tremendously difficult period for the composer, as the toll from years of alcoholism and an emerging throat tumor caused Sibelius to write frequently about death. Sharply critical of his own music, Sibelius’s output plummeted and strained his relationship with his new publisher. In order to provide his publisher Lienau with the agreed-upon number of pieces, Sibelius often undertook short, experimental compositional projects. Belshazzar’s Feast was one such work, written as incidental music to the Swedish play of the same name by Hjalmar Fredrik Eugen Procopé. Procopé’s play was based on the Biblical book of Daniel, prompting Sibelius to experiment with his own musical ideas of Orientalism, perhaps offering a brief escape from the difficulties of these troubling middle years of his life.
As the biblical story goes, King Belshazzar has returned to Babylon after successfully raiding the First Temple in Jerusalem, with spoils and ancient drinking vessels. As he begins his celebratory feast drinking from these sacred artifacts, a hand appears and writes on the wall beside him. Terrified, Belshazzar calls for his diviners to read him the writing, which is in an unknown language. Unable to translate the writing, the prophet Daniel is called upon to decipher it. Daniel reads the words “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN” and interprets them for the king: “MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; TEKEL, you have been weighed … and found wanting;” and “PERES, your kingdom is divided.” That very night, Belshazzar is killed in his sleep by the Jewish girl Leschanah.
While Sibelius wrote music to accompany the entire Belshazzar’s Feast play by Hjalmar Procopé, the suite is most performed today. It begins with a processional, starting far in the distance, as Belshazzar and his men re-enter a city square in Babylon. The percussion symbolize the marching army, as other instrumental groups depict a bustling market scene. As the army gets closer, the music intensifies, creating a chaotic atmosphere, and then slowly retreats just as it began. The second movement, given the name “Solitude” contains a song in the original play sung by a Jewish girl floating on a boat in a nearby river. Her song is carried through the air into the palace where the woman Leschanah (later Belshazzar’s assassin) hears her singing and begins to reminisce about Jerusalem. In the suite, this song is played as a duet between viola and cello. The work ends with Khadra’s Dance, (Belshazzar’s favorite dancer) dancing the Dance of Life and Death during their feast.
Sibelius’ work evokes a Middle Eastern atmosphere, through his use of percussion, certain scales, harmonies, and rhythms. Give it a listen below.
