Britten's Te Deum in C

[ardcarp]

Very well sung at HRH Prince Phillip's Memorial Service. Great treble soloist...very assured.

I seem to remember something about Prince Phillip asking Britten to compose some choral work. Is that true? And was this the work?

[Lordgeous]

Terrific piece, and yes, the choir on great form, the Byrd especially good I thought. I don't know about any connection with Prince Phillip - dedication reads "Written for Maurice Vinden and the Choir of St Mark's, N. Audley St, London."

[cat]

It was Britten's Jubilate in C that was composed at the request of the Duke. I presume, because the Duke chose the Te Deum in C for his funeral, that he must have liked it and wished Britten to complete the set.

Britten had actually written a Jubilate in E flat along with the Te Deum in C 1934, but he didn't publish it.

[Guest]

Wasn't the companion Jubilate in E Flat rather than E?

[cat]

Wasn't the companion Jubilate in E Flat rather than E?

Indeed, now fixed.

[Simon Biazeck]

Very well sung at HRH Prince Philip's Memorial Service. Great treble soloist...very assured.

I seem to remember something about Prince Phillip asking Britten to compose some choral work. Is that true? And was this the work?

The Jubilate in C was written at the request of Prince Philip. I believe the RH semiquavers in the organ part are thought to be a reference to a hornpipe.

[ardcarp]

Thanks for your answers folks. I've always enjoyed singing the Te Deum. Likewise the Jubilate in C (never heard the other one) which keeps you on your toes.

[Simon Biazeck]

Thanks for your answers folks. I've always enjoyed singing the Te Deum. Likewise the Jubilate in C (never heard the other one) which keeps you on your toes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQvgDcDoxEY&list=RDRQvgDcDoxEY&start_radio=1

First recording (and my preference): https://www.prestomusic.com/classica...mony-of-carols

[Lordgeous]

https://www.prestomusic.com/classica...mony-of-carols

Fabulous collection/recording and the choir on cracking form.

[Simon Biazeck]

https://www.prestomusic.com/classica...mony-of-carols
Fabulous collection/recording and the choir on cracking form.

Your link shows an 'error' message on my browser. I assume the recording you are recommending is David and WCC? If so, the link is in my reply #8.

[Lordgeous]

I copied your link! I guess the .... didn't work in a copy! This should work.

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7929467--britten-a-ceremony-of-carols

[Keraulophone]

Wasn't the companion Jubilate in E Flat rather than E?

IIRC, the Truro recording (on the Regent label) of this rarely heard setting in E flat is the one incorporated in Decca's 'Complete Works' Britten 66 CD set. (Currently £1899 for a used copy on Amazon!) The original CD incudes two other rarities, The Sycamore Tree, a Christmas piece written by the teenage Britten and Advance Democracy. This is 'a piece of unabashed political propaganda commissioned by the London Co-operative Society. At a time of great anxiety in Europe and on the eve of the second World War, this poem by Randall Swingler paints a dark picture of the threat of dictatorship if democracy doesn’t ‘rise up and cry that what our fathers fought for we’ll not allow to die’. It is a strange piece and its overtly political message makes it quite difficult to programme except as a curiosity' (B&H). However, it could well be sung today in support of the people of Ukraine.
.

[ardcarp]

https://www.prestomusic.com/classica...mony-of-carols

I've had that Westminster Cathedral/David Hill CD for years, but stopped it after The Ceremony of Carols.... which as you say is tops....so never (knowingly) heard the Britten Jubilate in E flat! Incidentally I've not got the NCO CD you posted up They were one of my favourite choirs under Higginbottom, but their version of Ceremony of Carols doesn't quite cut the mustard. Having sort of changed the subject, the old St John's/George Guest World of Christmas LP with Robles on the harp definitely does. There is a story they had to repeat the entire recording session for that because Britten noticed a few 'wrong notes' in the harp part!

[Lordgeous]

Would love to have been at the WCC/Malcolm/Ellis performance that prompted Britten to write his 'Missa Brevis' for the Westminster Boys.

[ardcarp]

There is, somewhere in the BBC archives, a sound recording of the (first?) live performance of the Missa Brevis, with George Malcolm playing the organ and directing at WC. It has a few bloops, but is fascinating. Can't remember when it was last aired. Not sure if it's available to buy anywhere.