Te Deum

Scoring: Soli ST, Coro SATB (div.), 2 Fl, 2 Ob, 2 Clt, 2 Fg, 4 Cor, 2 Tr, 3 Trb, Oficleide (Tb), Timp, Arpa, 2 Vl, Va, Vc, Cb

As an acclaimed opera composer, Georges Bizet admitted that he had no real sensibility for sacred music. His Te Deum is nonetheless a truly fascinating and highly expressive work. From the majestic “Te Deum laudamus”, to the skillful choral fugue of “Fiat misericordia tua”, and the opening's powerful recapitulation, the composition shows no trace of the difficulties that beset the young Bizet by his own admission before he finally completed the work in 1858.

In the extensive trilingual preface to this Urtext edition, editor Marc Rigaudière illuminates the circumstances surrounding the composition of the Te Deum, a work which occupies a singular position in Bizet’s œuvre. The edition is based on the composer’s autograph score — the work's only surviving source. For the first time, this work is available with all performance parts.