Henry V and Façade - a centenary performance | The Berkeley Ensemble

Façade, the celebrated collaboration between poet Edith Sitwell and composer William Walton, was performed for the first time exactly 100 years ago on 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 Laurence Olivier's heroic film, Henry V.

Henry V and Façade is one of the performances making up Legends and Heroes, this year's Summer Music in City Churches festival. Generously supported by the Walton Trust.