First performed in private for a select audience of London’s glitterati in January 1922, Walton adorned Sitwell’s “experiments in sound” Façade with music of originality and vitality to match the absurdist-leaning poetry. Within a generation, the exhilarating distractions of the Jazz Era had given way to the bleak horror of the Second World War. With Britain at its lowest ebb, Laurence Olivier’s morale-boosting 1944 film version of Henry V was enhanced by one of Walton’s finest, most colourful, dramatic and emotion-laden scores. It is thrillingly realised here in Edward Watson’s chamber version for 11 players. Arranging the work for this relatively small ensemble, Watson creates a remarkable sound brimming with cinematic impact that has been much admired for its blending of the concert platform and theatrical stage. © SOMM Recordings