composed six Te Deums, although only four of them have survived. Largely because of the great popularity of its prelude, the best known is the Te Deum in D major, H. 146, written as a grand motet for soloists, choir, and instrumental accompaniment probably between 1688 and 1698, during Charpentier's stay at the JesuitChurch of Saint-Louis in Paris, where he held the position of musical director. It is thought that the composition was performed to mark the victory celebrations and the Battle of Steinkirk in August, 1692.
Structure
The composition consists of the following parts:
Prelude
\version "2.14.2" \header upper = \relative c lower = \relative c \score
Te Deum laudamus
Te aeternum Patrem
Pleni sunt caeli et terra
Te per orbem terrarum
Tu devicto mortis aculeo
Te ergo quaesumus
Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis
Dignare, Domine
Fiat misericordia tua
In te, Domine, speravi
Charpentier considered the key D-major as "bright and very warlike"''; indeed D-major was regarded as the "key of glory" in Baroque music. The instrumental introduction, composed in the form of rondo, precedes the first verset, led by the bass soloist. The choir and other soloists join gradually. Charpentier apparently intended to orchestrate the work according to the traditional exegesis of the Latin text. The choir thus predominates in the first part, and individual soloists in the second part. In subsequent versets, nos. 21–25, both soloists and choir alternate, and the final verset is a large-scale fugue written for choir, with a short trio for soloists in the middle.
Orchestration
The composition is scored for choir and 5 soloists, accompanied with an instrumental ensemble of 2 alto recorders, 2 oboes, trumpet, low trumpet and timpani, 2 violins, 2 violas and basso continuo. The bass part is called "organ, basses de violon and bassoons" in an autograph manuscript. The basse de violon is a cello-like instrument. The orchestral tutti is mostly constricted to 4 parts, while the vocal soloist sections make use of a lighter three-part instrumental texture including 2 recorders and basso continuo as well as 2 violins and basso continuo.
After the work's rediscovery in 1953 by French musicologistCarl de Nys, the instrumental prelude, Marche en rondeau, was chosen in 1954 as the theme music preceding the Eurovision network broadcasts of the European Broadcasting Union. After over sixty years of use notably before EBU programs such as the popular Eurovision Song Contest and Jeux Sans Frontières, the prelude, as arranged by Guy Lambert and directed by Louis Martini, has become Charpentier's best-known work. The prelude was used for the introduction of the Olympiad films by Bud Greenspan. The prelude was briefly played during King Richard's coronation in the 1995 filmRichard III. The prelude was played in the TV seriesOutlander, Series 2 Episode 2, in a scene at the Palace of Versailles in 1744, during the reign of King Louis XV of France. The prelude was used in popular songs including "United" by Drafi and "Kun rakkaus voittaa" by Fredi.
