The Te Deum is a Latin Christian hymn that people have traditionally believed was written before the year 500 AD. However, some evidence suggests it might have been created even earlier. It is a key part of the Ambrosian hymnal, a collection of hymns that spread throughout the Latin Church along with other religious practices from Milan between the 6th and 8th centuries. Sometimes called the Ambrosian Hymn, it is unlikely that Saint Ambrose wrote it. The term "Te Deum" can also describe a short religious service (for giving thanks or blessings) based on the hymn.
Many religious groups still use it today. It is especially important in a short church service of thanksgiving, often held quickly to celebrate good news like military victories, peace treaties, or the birth of a royal child.
History
The hymn "Te Deum" is usually credited to Saint Ambrose (died 397) or Saint Augustine (died 430). In the 19th century, some scholars suggested Saint Hilary of Poitiers (died 367) or Saint Nicetas of Remesiana (died 414) might have written it. By the 20th century, the idea that Nicetas wrote it was no longer considered valid. While the hymn is believed to have been written in the 4th century, its exact author remains unknown. The name "Nicetas" was linked to the hymn in some manuscripts from the 10th century onward. This idea was strongly supported by Germain Morin in the 1890s. However, 20th-century hymnologists, especially Ernst Kähler in 1958, showed that the connection to Nicetas was not true. The "Te Deum" has a structure similar to a eucharistic prayer, and some scholars believe it was originally part of one.
The hymn was included in the Old Hymnal when it was introduced to the Benedictine order in the 6th century. It was also preserved in the Frankish Hymnal from the 8th century. However, it was removed from the New Hymnal, which became common in the 10th century. It was added back to hymnals in the 12th century, as some tried to restore the praise-focused practices described in the Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 12: How the Morning Office Is to Be Said.
In the traditional religious service, the "Te Deum" is sung at the end of Matins on all days when the "Gloria" is said during Mass. These days include all Sundays except during Advent, Septuagesima, Lent, and Passiontide, as well as all feasts (except the Triduum) and all days during Eastertide.
Before Pope John XXIII’s reforms in 1961, the "Gloria" and "Te Deum" were not said on the feast of the Holy Innocents unless it fell on a Sunday. This was because the Holy Innocents were martyred before the death of Christ and could not immediately reach heaven.
In the Liturgy of the Hours created by Pope Paul VI, the "Te Deum" is sung at the end of the Office of Readings on all Sundays except those in Lent, on all solemnities, on the octaves of Easter and Christmas, and on all feasts. The revised Handbook of Indulgences (fourth edition) allows a plenary indulgence (a full forgiveness of sins) to those who recite the hymn publicly on New Year’s Eve, under usual conditions.
In the Daily Office of the Catholic Ordinariates, the "Te Deum" is sung during Morning Prayer as the Canticle following the First Lesson. It is used on (1) Sundays except during Pre-Lent and Lent, (2) Feasts and Solemnities, and (3) all days during the Octaves of Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost.
The hymn is also used with standard canticles in Morning Prayer, as described in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, and as an option in Morning Prayer or Matins for Lutherans. It is still used by many Reformed churches.
The "Te Deum" is regularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church, Anglican Church, and Methodist Church, mostly before the Homily, in the Office of Readings found in the Liturgy of the Hours. It is also used in thanksgiving to God for special blessings, such as the election of a pope, the consecration of a bishop, the canonization of a saint, a religious profession, the publication of a peace treaty, or a royal coronation. It is sung after Mass, the Divine Office, or as a separate religious ceremony. The hymn remains in use in the Anglican Communion and some Lutheran Churches in similar settings.
Music and text
The hymn Te Deum was originally written using a melody from a Gregorian chant. The prayers at the end of the hymn (beginning with Salvum fac populum tuum) are chosen verses from the book of Psalms that were added later to the original hymn.
The hymn follows the structure of the Apostles' Creed, combining a poetic description of heavenly worship with a statement of faith. It begins by calling on the name of God and then lists all who praise and honor God, including angels and other heavenly beings, Christians already in heaven, and the Church throughout the world.
Next, the hymn returns to its statement of belief, naming Jesus Christ and recalling his birth, suffering, death, resurrection, and glorification. After this, the hymn shifts focus to those who offer praise, including the entire Church and the individual singer. It asks for forgiveness for past sins, protection from future sins, and the hope of being reunited with those chosen by God.
Latin and English text
In the Book of Common Prayer, verses are written in short lines. Reading pauses at the end of each short line, as shown by colons in the text.
Indulgence
The Enchiridion Indulgentiarum (a document from 2004) gives full or some forgiveness for sins when certain conditions are met.
Service
A Te Deum service is a short religious ceremony that includes singing a hymn to express gratitude. In Sweden, this service may be held at the Royal Chapel during important events such as the birth of a royal child, christenings, significant birthdays, jubilees, or other key moments in the Swedish royal family.
In Belgium, a Te Deum service is held every year on July 21, the day Leopold I officially became king of the Belgians. This date is still celebrated as Belgium's national holiday.
In Luxembourg, a Te Deum service is held annually in the presence of the grand-ducal family to mark the Grand Duke's Official Birthday, which is also Luxembourg's national day, on either June 23 or 24.
In the Autonomous Region of Madeira, the Bishop of Funchal leads a Te Deum service every year on December 31.
This service is also observed in some South American countries, including Argentina, Chile, and Peru, on their respective national days.
Musical settings
Many composers have set the text of the Te Deum to music. Well-known settings include those by Zelenka, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Berlioz, Verdi, Bruckner, Furtwängler, Dvořák, Britten, Kodály, and Pärt. Jean-Baptiste Lully composed a version of the Te Deum for the court of Louis XIV of France. He suffered a fatal injury while conducting it. Michel Richard de Lalande wrote a setting of the Te Deum, S.32. Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s setting (H.146) is famous in Europe because its prelude is used as the theme music for Eurovision network broadcasts, such as the Eurovision Song Contest and Jeux Sans Frontières. He also composed three other settings of the Te Deum: H.145, H.147, and H.148. Henry Desmarets created two settings of the Te Deum in 1687. Louis-Nicolas Clérambault composed three settings: C.137, C.138, and C.155. Earlier, the prelude was used as the theme music for Bud Greenspan’s documentary series, The Olympiad. Sir William Walton wrote the Coronation Te Deum for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Other English composers who created settings include Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Henry Purcell, Edward Elgar, Richard St. Clair, Herbert Howells, five settings by George Frideric Handel, three by Charles Villiers Stanford, two by Arthur Sullivan, and two by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Giacomo Puccini’s opera Tosca includes a dramatic performance of the beginning of the Te Deum at the end of Act I. The traditional chant melody inspired detailed Te Deum compositions by famous French organists, including Louis Marchand, Guillaume Lasceux, Charles Tournemire (1930), Jean Langlais (1934), and Jeanne Demessieux (1958). These works are still widely performed today. A version by Father Michael Keating is popular in some Charismatic circles. Mark Hayes composed a setting in 2005, blending Latin phrases with primarily English lyrics. In 1978, British hymn writer Christopher Idle created God We Praise You, a version of the text in 8.7.8.7.D meter, set to the tune Rustington. John Rutter composed two settings of this hymn: one called Te Deum and the other Winchester Te Deum. Igor Stravinsky used the first 12 lines of the text in The Flood in 1962. Antony Pitts was asked to write a setting for the 2011 10th Anniversary Festival of the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music. The 18th-century German hymn Großer Gott, wir loben dich is a free translation of the Te Deum. It was translated into English in the 19th century as Holy God, We Praise Thy Name.