Friday, October 11, 2013

William Walton: "Coronation Te Deum"



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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

[added later, mainly from Psalm verses:]
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.
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.
From theYouTube page:
The Stanford Chamber Chorale and University Organist Robert Huw Morgan, under the direction of Stephen M. Sano, perform the "Coronation Te Deum" of William Walton (1902-1983), in the arrangement for double choir and organ by Simon Preston and Mark Blatchly.

The audio is taken from a live concert recording in May 2009 in Stanford Memorial Church.

For more information, please visit the Chorale's website: http://chorale.stanford.edu/

This piece was originally written for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.   You can also listen to it - along with some other really tasty treats (Langlais' Messe Solennelle, Parry's "I Was Glad," and Bruckner's "Locus Iste," for instance) - on the 10/6/2013 webcast of St. Thomas NYC's Feast of Dedication; it's the 100th Anniversary of the first worship service in its current (quite astounding) building.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

My favorite Te Deum!

bls said...

I love Walton - he's such a weirdo. Especially like this Jubilate; it's kind of a cross between Die Zauberflaute - and 2001: A Space Odyssey....