The following article is dedicated particularly to Jean,
who appears and plays a crucial part in it.
She has appeared in a number of articles of mine, and will play a part
in more to come. Over the years, dear
Jean contributed to so much that I have written; I would always print out
sections as I finished them and we would discuss the content together, so
everything was a joint creation.
Over the last year or so, I did talk through with her
what I was working on, but Jean was not always able to comprehend what I was telling
her. I was particularly eager to get
this piece finished as I wanted her to be able to read it, but the research
took a long time and, in the end, it was too late …
There is so much that I wanted to tell her, so much that
I still want to tell her; but I did say the most important words in the English
Language to her – often – and she said the same to me.
I love you.
I love you, Jean.
This is for you …
Belshazzar! Bling-king
of the Old Testament. The Sitwells! Jean and Me?
Well that was an attention-grabber wasn’t it? Anyway, it will all make sense, so let us move on. Everybody has heard of the Bloomsbury Set, one of the great literary and artistic groupings of the post-Great War era; but equally influential in those circles were the Sitwell sister and brothers. They were very much avant-garde (in the vanguard) in the artistic circles of the day being very close to Cecil Beaton and William Walton among many others in the Arts; their mission was to protest against dullness and nobody can deny that they spread colour everywhere.
William Walton lived with the Sitwell family for a number of years and when he commenced work on his great choral piece: “Belshazzar’s Feast”, Osbert Sitwell worked alongside him to produce the libretto. The libretto is the framework on which the music is built to produce a coherent whole and Osbert went beyond just the Book of Daniel to craft the poem / libretto for the composition. Out of the 117 lines of the finished poem and vocal score, only 53 come from Daniel Chapter 5 which tells the story of Belshazzar’s Feast. Osbert Sitwell has woven together elements of the Psalms (81 and 137). Number 137 is the psalm that expresses the plight, most eloquently, of the Israelites being held captive by beginning “By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. … How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?”
Also, there are extracts from the books of Isaiah and
Revelations woven together to create a poem which succinctly establishes the
situation of the Israelites, the events at the Feast, Belshazzar being slain
during the night (I always wonder How? and by Whom?) then general rejoicing at
the fall of Babylon (not exactly how it happens in the Book of Daniel, but
never mind).
The poems of Osbert Sitwell that I have read are portraits of people of all types and conditions that he knew in England and in Italy. As you read, each person is alive on the page, and Osbert captures succinctly the essence of his subject, their vanity, their weakness or their nobility and you feel that you know them well. An air of melancholy, like dust, hangs over some of his subjects and that is not a feeling that we want at this time.
I enjoyed his writing and, when I have the time, will definitely add one or two of his earlier books to my reading list.
Sacheverell decided to pre-empt his autobiography by
writing about his childhood and early adulthood whilst the memories were fresh
in his mind rather than waiting until his older age when he might have
forgotten quite a lot. What he has done
with four experiences as a child (and one as a young man) is to create an “One
Thousand and One Arabian Nights” experience with digressions and diversions all
the time so that you have almost forgotten each original story in reading all
the pictures that he conjures up from literature, myths, architecture,
horticulture, art and wherever inspiration has struck him. He paints a realistic picture of a privileged
life for a child in the first dozen or so years of the twentieth century but
overlaid with a wonderful kaleidoscope of images which sparkle constantly
before you. I wonder what this work
would have been like if he had delayed writing until much later in life?
Edith, the elder sister, is the one most known about generally. A major figure in literary circles and promoter of young poets of promise. Ridiculed by many, but her poetry and reading tours, particularly in the United States of America, were exceedingly popular. She was awarded doctorates by Leeds, Durham, Sheffield and Oxford Universities and made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II in the early 1950s.
I have read a lot of poetry in my time and a fair amount of Dame Edith’s, but, I am afraid that I did not find much of it to my taste. A lot of it is surreal. Surrealism is a form of art in which an attempt is made to represent and interpret the phenomena of dreams and similar experiences (*). Unfortunately, that being the case, many of Dame Edith’s dreams must have been quite dark and terrifying. I would not recommend a parent of a young child to read the poem: “Lullaby” aloud. The images are quite unsettling:
“Thy mother’s hied to the vaster race:
The Pterodactyl made its nest
And laid a steel egg in her breast –
Under the Judas-coloured sun.
She’ll work no more, nor dance, nor moan,
And I am come to take her place.”
But, on reading her personal letters, she comes out as
warm, funny, clever, interesting and sympathetic. I must read more, one day, perhaps one of her
novels and then I will have to knuckle down to the poetry and recite until the
rhythm and the rhyme is right.
My mother was very interested in the Sitwell family and was absolutely certain that she was related to them through her mother’s line. She wanted to find the connection and spent many years searching through family records without success but eventually produced a substantial family tree. The details go back to the 1570s and cover a wide range of ancestors; but no connection to the Sitwell family. Never mind, it was a valiant effort.
Some years ago, Jean and I visited the Victoria and
Albert Museum one day for a good look around.
Whilst there, we saw the sign for the Jewellery Collection and made our
way over to Level 2 to have a look. This
Collection is in its own individual strong-room and, as you know, I have worked
in many strong-rooms during my banking years.
This one was particularly impressive and as secure as you can get. After you pass through the outer armoured
doors with the dual combination locks, there is a small vestibule leading to
the inner steel-barred gate. When we
walked through, we were stopped in our tracks by a framed photograph of Dame
Edith Sitwell on the wall. It was
photographed by Cecil Beaton, I think, and showed Dame Edith in magnificent
profile wearing a typically flamboyant turban and bedizened in jewellery:
ear-rings, rings, bracelets and more necklaces than some ladies would wear in a
fortnight. We gazed at it silently
together whilst other patrons walked straight past us and into the
exhibition After a few moments, Jean
started chuckling, then laughingly she said:
“You can’t deny it, of course of course you’re related! Look at that conk, her whopping great hooter
– distinct family resemblance you can tell.”
Silently, I gazed down my proboscis – I mean my nose – at
her. We went into the exhibition which
was a glittering delight. But, do you
know? Virtually all that I can remember
of that visit is the portrait of Dame Edith Sitwell, who is definitely not
related to me or my family. I just wonder
whether the picture is still in place though?
Background reading:
Dame Edith SITWELL “Poems
New and Old” Faber and Faber – Fifth Impression 1946
Dame Edith SITWELL “The
Penguin Poets – A selection by the Author” Penguin Books 1952
Dame Edith SITWELL “Selected
Letters” Edited by John Lehmann and Derek Parker, Macmillan and Co Ltd 1970
Osbert SITWELL “Poems
about People or England Reclaimed” Hutchinson & Co (Publishers) Ltd – First
published 1965
Sacheverell SITWELL “All
Summer in a Day – An Autobiographical Fantasia” Duckworth 1926
William WALTON “Belshazzar’s
Feast for mixed choir, baritone solo and orchestra” Vocal Score Oxford University Press Revised
Edition 1955
The Holy Bible – Revised Standard Version 1952 – Books:
Psalm 137, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Revelations.
(*) The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary – Third Edition
reprinted with corrections – 1964.
Rembrandt painted (I think!) the best image of Belshazzar (it is in
the National Gallery if you want to go and have a look), but, here it is!
Download Receipt Number:
828686 / 4314995
If you want to see some of the images of the “Nest of
Tigers”, click on this link to go to the National Portrait Gallery,
enjoy them!
Osbert,
Sacheverell & Edith Sitwell 1927
