Te Deum (Jenkins)
Te Deum is a sacred choral work by Karl Jenkins from 2008. It is an extensive setting of the early Christian Te Deum for choir, two trumpets, strings and five percussionists, published in 2009 by Boosey & Hawkes . Te Deum is often performed with thecomposer's Gloria .
history
Karl Jenkins composed the work for the Liverpool Welsh Choral in 2008 when Liverpool was European Capital of Culture . The Te Deum was chosen as the text, an early Christian song of praise, thanks and supplication. The composer conducted the world premiere on November 30, 2008 at the Philharmonic Hall, with the choir and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra . Te Deum was published by Boosey & Hawkes in 2009.
Occupation and structure
Jenkins' Te Deum is composed for a four-part mixed choir and an orchestra of strings , two trumpets and five percussionists with timpani, glockenspiel and xylophone, bass drum, cymbals and snare drum. The choir is rarely divided into six.
Compared to other works by Jenkins, for example the peace mass The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace , the demands on the choir and the size of the orchestra are limited and make the work also accessible to amateur groups. A performance of the work takes about 15 minutes.
The text is set to music in one sentence, which is, however, divided into sections of different characters. The text from the beginning and its music are taken up again at the end. The following table shows the sections with title, incipit , translation, tempo and key , according to the piano reduction.
| Incipit | translation | Tempo designation | key | Time signature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Te Deum | You, God, we praise | Allegro | C major | 3/4 |
| Te ergo quaesumus | We ask you then | adagio | A minor | |
| Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis | In eternal glory, count us among your saints | Allegations | F major | 4/4 |
| Miserere nobis | Have mercy on us | largo | B minor | |
| Te Deum | Vivace | C major | 3/4 |
music
The orchestra begins with four equal bars of accented quarters. The voices pick up the motif, repeat it again and move on to a sweeping melody. This material is repeated as "Te aeternum Patrem" (You, the Eternal Father). In the course of the piece it is taken up again for “Sanctus” (holy) and “Patrem immensae majestatis” (you, the father of immeasurable majesty), and it appears at the beginning of the recapitulation of the opening text. A song melody appears for the first time to “Tibi omnes angeli” (the angels all call you), repeated to “venerandum tuum” (your true [and only son]). Another motif for “Te, gloriosus” (you are praised by the glorious choir of the apostles) contrasts melodic lines in unison with an ostinatian percussion-like “Te, te, te ...” sung on one note by the other voices.
The Adagio section “Te ergo quaesumus” (we ask you) is vocal and harmonically complex. It is followed by the first section in straight time, “Aeterna fac” (In Eternal Glory), which contrasts the ostinate accents of the instruments with broken syncopated melodies and bass lines. The request for mercy, “Miserere nostri”, appears at a slower tempo and flowing melody, followed by the recapitulation of the beginning. Increased, rhythmically more complex repetitions of the call "Te" conclude the work.
Recording
Jenkins' Te Deum was recorded on CD along with his Gloria , conducted by the composer and sung by the National Youth Choir of Great Britain and the London Symphony Orchestra .