Edith Sitwell’s invitation to William Walton to collaborate on an innovative, revolutionary new work came at a critical moment in the young composer’s career, and Façade proved to be his first great success. The peerless combination of a peculiarly English dry wit, genuine pathos and superlative technical skill remains an extraordinary achievement. Sitwell’s verses conjure a satirical and poignant world of bourgeois late-Victorian England, while Walton’s settings unfailingly enhance and enrich the texts in a work in which words and music are unquestionably of equal importance.
Walton, William
Sitwell, Edith - Lyricist
Façade 1
1 Fanfare 00:37
2 I. Hornpipe 01:15
3 II. En Famille 02:50
4 III. Mariner Man 00:38
5 IV. Long Steel Grass 02:07
6 V. Through Gilded Trellises 02:07
7 VI. Tango-Pasodoblé 01:53
8 VII. Lullaby for Jumbo 01:21
9 VIII. Black Mrs. Behemoth 00:52
10 IX. Tarantella 01:19
11 X. The Man from a Far Countree 01:32
12 XI. By the Lake 01:38
13 XII. Country Dance 01:54
14 XIII. Polka 01:17
15 XIV. Four in the Morning 01:59
16 XV. Something Lies Beyond the Scene 00:58
17 XVI. Valse 03:07
18 XVII. Jodelling Song 02:11
19 XVIII. Scotch Rhapsody 01:23
20 XIX. Popular Song 01:56
21 XX. Fox-Trot, "Old Sir Faulk" 02:09
22 XXI. Sir Beelzebub 01:00
Façade 2
23 I. Flourish - Came the Great Popinjay 01:14
24 II. Aubade 03:20
25 III. March 00:55
26 IV. Madame Mouse Trots 00:40
27 V. The Octogenarian 01:14
28 VI. Gardener Janus Catches a Naiad 00:55
29 VII. Water Party 01:05
30 VIII. Said King Pompey 00:43
Façade: Additional Numbers (1922, 1977)
31 I. Small Talk 01:35
32 II. Daphne 01:42
33 III. The White Owl 01:05
34 IV. The Last Galop 01:44
Total Playing Time: 52:15
