Te Deum (Bruckner)
| Te Deum | |
|---|---|
| by Anton Bruckner | |
The composer in 1886
|
|
| Key | C major |
| Catalogue | WAB 45 |
| Form | Te Deum |
| Composed | |
| Dedication | Ad maiorem Dei gloriam |
| Performed | 2 May 1885: Kleiner Musikvereinssaal, Vienna |
| Published | 1885: Vienna |
| Movements | 5 |
| Vocal | SATB choir and soloists |
| Instrumental | Orchestra and organ ad lib. |
The Te Deum in C major, WAB 45 is a setting of the Te Deum hymn, composed by Anton Bruckner for SATB choir and soloists, orchestra, and organ ad libitum.
Bruckner started work on his Te Deum from 3 to 17 May 1881, when he was finalising his Symphony No. 6. After finishing his next Symphony No. 7, Bruckner resumed work on his Te Deum on 28 September 1883. The vocal and orchestral score was completed on 7 March 1884. The ad lib. organ part was added on a separate score on 16 March 1884. The composer dedicated the piece A.M.D.G. "in gratitude for having safely brought me through so much anguish in Vienna."
The Te Deum was premiered in the Kleiner Musikvereinssaal in Vienna on 2 May 1885, with soloists Frau Ulrich-Linde, Emilie Zips, Richard Exleben, and Heinrich Gassner, with the choir of the Wiener Akademischer Richard Wagner Verein, and Robert Erben and Joseph Schalk substituting for the orchestra on two pianos.Hans Richter conducted the first performance with full orchestra on 10 January 1886 in the Großer Musikvereinssaal of Vienna.
Thereafter, there were almost thirty more performances within Bruckner's lifetime. The last performance, which Bruckner attended, was conducted by Richard von Perger at the suggestion of Johannes Brahms. On his copy of the score, Gustav Mahler crossed out "für Chor, Soli und Orchester, Orgel ad libitum" (for choir, solos and orchestra, organ ad libitum) and wrote "für Engelzungen, Gottsucher, gequälte Herzen und im Feuer gereinigte Seelen!" (for the tongues of angels, heaven-blest, chastened hearts, and souls purified in the fire!). The composer himself called the work "the pride of his life".
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