Completed in 1849, the Te Deum, like the earlier and more famous Grande Messe des Morts, is one of Berlioz's self-described "architectural" works. While the orchestral forces required for the Te Deum are nowhere near as massive as huge as those for the Requiem, the work does call for an organ which can compete on equal terms with the rest of the orchestra. It lasts approximately fifty minutes and derives its text from the traditional Latin liturgical form, though Berlioz made some changes to the word order for dramatic purposes. The instrumental Prelude and Marche are seldom performed in concert.
Berlioz's dramatic work premiered on April 30, 1855 at the Église de Ste. Eustache in Paris with a combined force of some 900 musicians, chorus and soli under the composer's direction. This new study score is a digitally enhanced reprint of the full score issued as part of the Berlioz complete works edited by Charles Malherbe and Felix Weingartner in 1900. Unlike so many of the on-demand scores now available, this one comes with all the pages and the images have been thoroughly checked to make sure it is readable. The score is beautifully printed at a readable size with a quality cover. The matching large score and orchestral parts are also now available from Serenissima Music (92568).