Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'' ''H.146, Marche en rondeau''. This theme is st ...

composed six

Te Deum The ( or , ; from its incipit, ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to a date before AD 500, but perhaps with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin ...

settings, but only four of them have survived (H.145, H.146, H.147, H.148). Largely because of the great popularity of its prelude, the best known is the Te Deum in

D major D major is a major scale based on D (musical note), D, consisting of the pitches D, E (musical note), E, F♯ (musical note), F, G (musical note), G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, and C♯ (musical note), C. Its key signature has two S ...

, H.146, written as a '' grand motet'' for soloists, choir, and instrumental accompaniment probably between 1688 and 1698, during Charpentier's stay at the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

Church of Saint-Louis in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he held the position of musical director. ISMN M-0006-52543-0 It is thought that the composition was performed to mark the victory celebrations and the

Battle of Steinkirk The Battle of Steenkerque, also known as ''Steenkerke'', ''Steenkirk'', ''Steynkirk'' or ''Steinkirk'' was fought on 3 August 1692, during the Nine Years' War, near Steenkerque, then part of the Spanish Netherlands but now in modern Belgium. A ...

in August, 1692.

Structure

The composition consists of the following parts: * Prelude (''Marche en rondeau'') * Te Deum laudamus (bass solo) * Te aeternum Patrem (chorus and SSAT solo) * Pleni sunt caeli et terra (chorus) * Te per orbem terrarum (trio, ATB) * Tu devicto mortis aculeo (chorus, bass solo) * Te ergo quaesumus (soprano solo) * Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis (chorus) * Dignare, Domine (duo, SB) * Fiat misericordia tua (trio, SSB) * In te, Domine, speravi (chorus with ATB trio) Charpentier considered the key

as "bright and very warlike"; indeed D major was regarded as the "key of glory" in

Baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Classical music, Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance music, Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Class ...

. 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 (verset 1–10, praise of God, heavenly dimension), and individual soloists in the second part (verset 11–20, Christological section, secular dimension). 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 (SATB) and 5 soloists (SSATB), accompanied with an instrumental ensemble of 2 alto recorders, 2 oboes, trumpet, low trumpet and timpani (playing the same part), 2 violins, 2 violas ("haute-contres de violon" and "tailles de violon") and basso continuo. The bass part is marked "" ("organ and

bass violin Bass violin is the modern term for various 16th- and 17th-century bass instruments of the violin (i.e. '' viola da braccio'') family. They were the direct ancestor of the modern cello. Bass violins were usually somewhat larger than the modern ce ...

s and

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

s") in the holograph manuscript. The orchestral tutti are mostly restricted to 4 parts (all high wind instruments and violins playing the same line), 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.

Cultural legacy

After the work's rediscovery in 1953 by French musicologist Carl de Nys, the instrumental prelude, ''Marche en rondeau'', was chosen in 1954 as the theme music preceding the

Eurovision network Eurovision is a pan-European television telecommunications network owned and operated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It was officially founded in 1954 in Geneva, Switzerland, and its first official transmission took place on 6 June 19 ...

broadcasts of the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...

. This version was arranged by Guy Lambert and directed by Louis Martini.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Compositions by Marc-Antoine Charpentier Charpentier 1692 compositions Music television series theme songs Eurovision Song Contest