2025 marks 80th anniversary of the first performance of Benjamin Britten’s Festival Te Deum
Commissioned by St Marks on its centenary, Britten’s Festival Te Deum celebrated the 80th anniversary of its first performance on 24 April 1945.
The work drew on the choral forces not just of St Marks, but of St Lukes, St Saviours (built by railwaymen
on their day off) and St Johns, conducted by Mr Gale with Mr G.W. Peter Titcombe sang the treble solo, accompanied by Curnow on the organ. It has since become a staple of the Anglican church repertoire.
In his review in the Musical Times (July 1945), R. Nettel writes of St Marks:
…it is not, therefore, to be considered an old church; like the houses by which it is surrounded it came into being to supply the needs of railway workers, and its incumbents have taken an active interest in the social welfare of the town as well as in spiritual ministration to its inhabitants (221).
For the church to commission a contemporary work then was felt to be a continuation of the vibrant cultural life of the railway worker’s community in Swindon. Britten, writing to Peter Pears in 1944 mentions the composition of this and the motet says that, while a not important work (he was occupied with the opera Peter Grimes at this time) it was “slightly honey” (Mitchell and Reed: 1991,1231). It was later reported that he felt frustrated by the rehearsal that he attended. Nicholas Riddle recalls talking to choristers who took part in the first performance and how they felt the music was challenging in its modernity and generally disliked. Nevertheless, R. Nettel in his review commends the performance:
The ending of the work, with the phrase ‘Let me never be confounded’ sung pianissimo by the solo boy of St. Mark’s-Master Peter Titcombe–brought the first performance on April 24 to an effective end. Mr. G. W. Curnow at the organ is to be congratulated on the able way in which he has co-operated Mr. Gale in the strenuous task of preparing this for performance (222).
Following the First Performance
Despite the celebrated commission, St Mark’s did not stage the work again until 1986, on the tenth anniversary of Britten’s death. In the meantime, the signed scores from the first performance were lost in a bonfire during a rather overenthusiastic clearing out.
The Festival Te Deum is a beautiful testament to the musical vitality at St Marks and a strong choral tradition that continues. It also demonstrates the vibrant cultural and spiritual life that was central to the industry of the railway works.
Britten’s publishers, Boosey and Hawkes, recommends a recording by Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, Blest Cecilia available on Spotify here.
Works cited:
D. Mitchell and P. Reed (eds) (1991), Letters from a Life: Selected Letters and
Diaries of Benjamin Britten vol; 2 (1939–45), London: Faber and Faber.
R. Nettel (1945), ‘Britten’s Festival Te Deum’ The Musical Times, Vol. 86, No. 1229
(July), pp. 221-222.
N. Riddle (2025) ‘The Festival Te Deum by Benjamin Britten’ unpubl.
