Berlioz: Te Deum (EUR) - CD

ENGLISH

<br><br>Composed some 12 years after Berlioz’s Requiem, his Te Deum is in many respects a close relation of the earlier work. Again it is on a large scale, written for triple choir, large orchestra, organ and tenor soloist. Where the Te Deum differs is in the range of colours it projects. There is much more in the way of light and shade, more a sense of praising God, rather than fearing him as is conveyed in the Requiem, at least until the awesome final ‘Judex crederis’. Both works plundered the 1824 Messe solenelle, and Berlioz commented to Liszt that ‘the Requiem has a brother’. <br /> <br /> We know little about the reasons why Berlioz composed this work. Maybe the upcoming coronation of Louis-Napoleon provided the stimulus – we know that Berlioz was lobbying for the honour of writing a suitable work for the new Emperor. Berlioz had also examined in Dresden the score of a large-scale Te Deum by Hasse, and commented on the dramatic effect made by the pealing of bells in the score. Some of the early material was intended for an aborted Fête musicale funèbre of 1835. This later became the Symphonie funèbre et triomphale, and the section where Berlioz imagines ‘General Bonaparte making his entry beneath the cathedral vaults’ may have been the catalyst for the Te Deum.<br /> <br /> Other information:<br /> - Digital recording made by Denon. <br /> - This release is only available in Europe.<br /> - Booklet notes and sung texts included.