Festival Te Deum
Encyclopedia
The Festival Te Deum is the popular name for an 1872 composition by Arthur Sullivan
, written to celebrate the recovery of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales
(later King Edward VII of the United Kingdom
) from typhoid fever
. The prince's father, Prince Albert, had died of typhoid fever in 1861, and so the prince's recovery was especial cause for celebration.
The Festival Te Deum was first performed on 1 May 1872 at The Crystal Palace
in a special "Thanksgiving Day" concert organised by the Prince's brother, Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh
, who was a friend of Sullivan's and commissioned the piece. Sullivan was allowed to dedicate the work to the prince's mother, Queen Victoria: an unusual honour. The soloist was Therese Titiens, who had been the soprano
soloist in Sullivan's earlier The Prodigal Son
.
, in praise of God, with the addition of a "Domine salvum fac" ("O Lord, save the Queen!"), divided up into seven self-contained sections. There are multiple choral fugue
s throughout, and the score calls for instrumentation on a grand scale, including the addition of a full military band to the orchestra, chorus, and organ in the final section.
At the original performance, the London contingent of the Handel Festival Choir of 2,000 performers constituted the chorus, and the audience numbered 26,000. The Times
wrote, "we are glad to be able to speak in terms of unqualified praise. It is not only, in our opinion, the most finished composition for which we are indebted to [Sullivan's] pen but an honour to English art." Sullivan was "uproariously cheered" at the premiere.
The first section begins with a reference to the hymn tune
St. Anne, which is repeated in the final section, suggesting that divine intervention played a part in the recovery of the Prince. Handel
's influence is heard throughout the piece, including in the fugues, and Sullivan uses key selection to emphasize sacred and secular sections of the piece. Soprano
solo or choral sections alternate in a broad dynamic range to illustrate the text. The piece, in keeping with the spirit of the occasion, is often upbeat, even exuberant in places.
While Sullivan was writing the Festival Te Deum, his first opera with W. S. Gilbert
, Thespis
, was still being performed. Sullivan was also busy composing The Light of the World
(an oratorio for the Birmingham festival), and a cantata for the opening of a London exhibition.
The BBC
broadcast the piece in 1988 and later the recording was released on CD.
The complete text of the Festival Te Deum is as follows, ignoring the repetitions:
1. Chorus
2. Solo (soprano) and Chorus
3. Chorus
4. Solo (soprano)
5. Chorus
6. Solo (soprano) and Chorus
7. Chorus
Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado...
, written to celebrate the recovery of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
(later King Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
) from typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
. The prince's father, Prince Albert, had died of typhoid fever in 1861, and so the prince's recovery was especial cause for celebration.
The Festival Te Deum was first performed on 1 May 1872 at The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
in a special "Thanksgiving Day" concert organised by the Prince's brother, Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh
Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the third Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and reigned from 1893 to 1900. He was also a member of the British Royal Family, the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha...
, who was a friend of Sullivan's and commissioned the piece. Sullivan was allowed to dedicate the work to the prince's mother, Queen Victoria: an unusual honour. The soloist was Therese Titiens, who had been the soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
soloist in Sullivan's earlier The Prodigal Son
The Prodigal Son (Sullivan)
The Prodigal Son is an oratorio by Arthur Sullivan with text taken from the parable of the same name in the Gospel of Luke. It features chorus with Soprano, Contralto, Tenor and Bass solos...
.
Description
The libretto uses an English translation of the traditional Te DeumTe Deum
The Te Deum is an early Christian hymn of praise. The title is taken from its opening Latin words, Te Deum laudamus, rendered literally as "Thee, O God, we praise"....
, in praise of God, with the addition of a "Domine salvum fac" ("O Lord, save the Queen!"), divided up into seven self-contained sections. There are multiple choral fugue
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
s throughout, and the score calls for instrumentation on a grand scale, including the addition of a full military band to the orchestra, chorus, and organ in the final section.
At the original performance, the London contingent of the Handel Festival Choir of 2,000 performers constituted the chorus, and the audience numbered 26,000. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
wrote, "we are glad to be able to speak in terms of unqualified praise. It is not only, in our opinion, the most finished composition for which we are indebted to [Sullivan's] pen but an honour to English art." Sullivan was "uproariously cheered" at the premiere.
The first section begins with a reference to the hymn tune
Hymn tune
A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm , and no refrain or chorus....
St. Anne, which is repeated in the final section, suggesting that divine intervention played a part in the recovery of the Prince. Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
's influence is heard throughout the piece, including in the fugues, and Sullivan uses key selection to emphasize sacred and secular sections of the piece. Soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
solo or choral sections alternate in a broad dynamic range to illustrate the text. The piece, in keeping with the spirit of the occasion, is often upbeat, even exuberant in places.
While Sullivan was writing the Festival Te Deum, his first opera with W. S. Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
, Thespis
Thespis (opera)
Thespis, or The Gods Grown Old, is an operatic extravaganza that was the first collaboration between dramatist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan. No musical score of Thespis was ever published, and most of the music has been lost...
, was still being performed. Sullivan was also busy composing The Light of the World
The Light of the World (Sullivan)
The Light of the World is an oratorio composed in 1873 by Arthur Sullivan. Sullivan wrote the libretto with the assistance of George Grove, based on the New Testament. The story of the oratorio narrates the whole life of Christ, focusing on his deeds on Earth as preacher, healer and prophet...
(an oratorio for the Birmingham festival), and a cantata for the opening of a London exhibition.
The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
broadcast the piece in 1988 and later the recording was released on CD.
Text
1. Chorus
- We praise thee, O God: we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
- All the earth doth worship thee: the Father everlasting.
- To thee all Angels cry aloud: the Heavens and all the powers therein.
2. Solo (soprano) and Chorus
- To thee Cherubim and Seraphim: continually do cry,
- Holy, Holy, Holy: Lord God of Sabaoth;
- Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty: of thy Glory.
3. Chorus
- The glorious company of the Apostles: praise thee.
- The goodly fellowship of the Prophets: praise thee.
- The noble army of Martyrs: praise thee.
- The holy Church throughout all the world: doth acknowledge thee;
- The Father: of an infinite Majesty;
- Thine honourable, true: and only Son;
- Also the Holy Ghost: the Comforter.
- Thou art the King of Glory: O Christ.
- Thou art the everlasting Son: of the Father.
4. Solo (soprano)
- When Thou tookest upon Thee to deliver man: thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
- When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death: thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
- Thou sittest at the right hand of God: in the Glory of the Father.
5. Chorus
- We believe that Thou shalt come: to be our Judge.
- We therefore pray Thee, help Thy servants: whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious blood.
- Make them to be numbered with Thy Saints: in glory everlasting.
6. Solo (soprano) and Chorus
- O Lord, save Thy people: and bless Thine heritage.
- Govern them: and lift them up for ever.
- Day by day: we magnify thee;
- And we worship thy Name: ever world without end.
7. Chorus
- Vouchsafe, O Lord: to keep us this day without sin.
- O Lord, have mercy upon us: have mercy upon us.
- O Lord, let Thy mercy lighten upon us: as our trust is in thee.
- O Lord, in thee have I trusted: let me never be confounded.
- O Lord, save the Queen: and mercifully hear us when we call upon thee. Amen.
External links
- The Vocal Score, at Wikimedia Commons
- Text and MIDI files
- Detailed analysis of the piece
- Review in The Times, 2 May 1872
- Analysis and comparison of several Sullivan pieces, including the Festival Te Deum
- Description of the Festival Te Deum
- New York Times description of a performance in Brooklyn in 1894