Book Description

"The liturgical hymn of praise, 'Te Deum Laudamus, ' reaches far back into the early Christian era for its inception and has amassed, through the centuries, a full and colorful tradition. After a discussion of the origin and early history of the 'Te Deum, ' this study will proceed with a critical analysis of selected musical settings with reference to the period style from the sixteenth century to the present time. The aim will be to show how the same liturgical text is treated by representative composers in each century and to demonstrate that the period style dominates the functional style in the musical settings of the 'Te Deum.'"--The Introduction, l.1.