St Giles-without-Cripplegate: Walton’s Henry V and Façade

The premiere of Façade, the celebrated collaboration between poet Edith Sitwell and composer William Walton, took place exactly 100 years ago this day. Experimental sounds and rhythms of the 1920s and a few nonsense rhymes create an oblique portrait of Sitwell’s early life, including both heroes (like the kind Mariner Man) and anti-heroes (Mrs Behemoth, her implacable mother).

This centenary performance is paired with Walton’s rousing incidental music for Lawrence Olivier’s heroic film, Henry V, heard here in a chamber arrangement by Charlie Piper.

Walton, arr. Piper Henry V Suite
Walton Façade (centenary performance)

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Picture: Edith Sitwell, 1915 portrait by Roger Fry