The Te Deum (Op. 22 / H.118) by Hector Berlioz (1803–1869) was completed in 1849. Like the earlier and more famous Grande Messe des Morts, it is one of the works referred to by Berlioz in his Memoirs as "the enormous compositions which some critics have called architectural or monumental music." While the orchestral forces required for the Te Deum are not as titanic as those of the Requiem, the work calls for an organ that can compete on equal terms with the rest of the orchestra. It lasts approximately fifty minutes and derives its text from the traditional Latin Te Deum, although Berlioz changed the word order for dramatic purposes.

Background and premiere The Te Deum was originally conceived as the climax of a grand symphony celebrating Napoleon Bonaparte III., who had become president of the Second Republic in 1848. The finished work was dedicated to Albert, Prince Consort, husband of Queen Victoria."Berlioz's 'Te Deum'", The Times, 19 May 1887, p. 10 Some of the material used by Berlioz in the piece was originally written for his Messe Solennelle of 1824,The Hector Berlioz Website – Berlioz and his music – self-borrowings thought to have been destroyed by the composer but rediscovered in 1991. The first performance of the work was on 30 April 1855, at the Church of Saint-Eustache, Paris; Berlioz conducted an ensemble of 900 or 950 performers.Keller, James M. "Berlioz: Te Deum, opus 22" , San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, accessed 28 April 2013

Structure

Orchestration The choral movements of the Te Deum are scored for:

Woodwinds 4 flutes 4 oboes (one doubling on cor anglais) 4 clarinets (one doubling on bass clarinet) 4 bassoons

Brass 4 horns 2 trumpets 2 cornets 6 trombones 2 ophicleides/tubas

Percussion timpani

4 tenor drums bass drum 5 cymbals

Voice tenor solo 2 large 3-part (STB) mixed choirs 1 large unison children's choir Keyboards organ

Strings

12 harps

violins I violins II violas cellos double basses

There are differences in the orchestration of the non-choral movements. The Prelude calls for a piccolo and 6 snare drums, while the March requires a Saxhorn and 12 harps. List of movements Apart from the rarely performed or recorded orchestral Prelude and Marche pour la présentation aux drapeaux (March for the presentation of the colours),Berlioz Te Deum there are six movements to this Te Deum, designated by Berlioz as either hymns (Hymne) or prayers (Prière), except for the last movement which he designated as both. These are listed below:

When performed, the Prelude falls between the Tibi omnes and Dignare; the Marche usually comes after the Judex crederis.

Reception After the first performance in London, in 1887 to celebrate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, The Times commented:

Anton Bruckner, who wrote his own Te Deum in the early 1880s, criticised Berlioz's setting for being too secular,Hawkshaw, p. 41 while Camille Saint-Saëns argued that it was well-suited for performance in church.

The second movement, Tibi omnes, was performed by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney Philharmonia Choir, and select members of the Sing 2001 children's choir to accompany the lighting of the Olympic cauldron in the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.Liner notes from The Games Of The XXVII Olympiad 2000: Music from the Opening Ceremony CD.

Recordings ConductorOrchestraChoirTenorOrganLabelYear Sir Thomas Beecham Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Dulwich College Boys Choir (prepared by Stanley Wilson), London Philharmonic Choir Alexander Young Denis Vaughan CBS 1951 Colin Davis London Symphony Orchestra London Symphony Chorus Franco Tagliavini Nicolas Kynaston Philips 1969 Daniel Barenboim Orchestre de Paris Le Chœur de l'Orchestre de Paris, Le Chœur d'Enfants de Paris, La Maîtrise de la Resurrection Jean Dupouy Jean Guillou Columbia Masterworks 1977 Ohannes Tchekidjian Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra Armenian SSR Chorus, Children's Choir of the Yerevan Music School Kārlis Zariņš Vasily Dolinsky Melodiya 1979 Claudio Abbado European Community Youth Orchestra London Symphony Chorus, London Philharmonic Choir, Wooburn Singers, St Albans School Choir, Haberdashers' Aske's School Choir, The Southend Boys' Choir, Desborough School Choir, The Choir of Forest School, Winnersh, The Choirboys of High Wycombe Parish Church Francisco Araiza Martin Haselböck DG 1981 John Nelson Orchestre de Paris Orchestre de Paris Chorus, Children's Choir of the European Union Roberto Alagna Marie-Claire Alain Virgin 2001 Eliahu Inbal Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra Frankfurt Vocal Ensemble Keith Lewis Matthias Eisenberg Brilliant 2003 Colin Davis Dresden Staatskapelle Dresden Singakademie Stuart Neill Hans-Dieter Schöne Profil 2006

The recordings conducted by Eliahu Inbal and John Nelson include the two sections usually omitted: the Prelude and the Marche pour la présentation aux drapeaux'

Notes

References

External links

Overview of the Te Deum including history and an analysis of the movements Discussion and table of Berlioz's self-borrowings, including the two in the Te Deum