Te Deum

[JW]

At a rehearsal of the Patrick Hawes Te Deum last night, the composer stressed how important this prayer is for the Church. That set me thinking! Does the person in the pew even know of the existence of this hymn?

The only setting I can find in Laudate is No. 709, We Praise You O God by Peter Jones. There are Te Deum verses to the Fintan O' Carrol / Christopher Walker 'Celtic Alleluia' but I don't think they are used. Paul Inwood recently wrote a setting for the ordination of Bishop Egan. There is a setting by James Macmillan. Also a setting by Marty Haugen. Few other prominent living Catholic composers seem to have set it.

The problem is that these settings are seldom used in our churches. As far as I can recall, I have never been present at a Catholic Mass or service where the Te Deum has been sung.

My point is this: are we neglecting this ancient hymn in the Roman Catholic Church today? As Sunday Mass is the normal way that the laity experience liturgy, should this hymn be used more often at Masses, for example as a Gathering Hymn? If so, we need more settings that are singable by congregations.

And I can't resist putting in a plug: http://www.rochesterchoral.co.uk/images/pdfs/jubilation_concert_2012.11.03_ph_press_release.pdf

[Peter Jones]

Laudate 708 is aso a version of the Te Deum. http://www.birminghamdiocese.org.uk/year-of-faith-video/ 109 minutes in - final hymn.

My point is this: are we neglecting this ancient hymn in the Roman Catholic Church today?

Well hardly, as it is prescribed for Sundays and other Solemnities at the Office of Readings BUT that doesn't mean it is necessarily sung.

[JW]

Peter, I hadn't made the connection with "Holy God we praise thy name" before - thanks for that. As regards the Office, I suspect relatively few Catholic laypeople say the Office of Readings on a Sunday. Clergy and Religious are only one section of the Church Militant.

[gwyn]

In my Anglican days I played the organ for Matins at a church further down the Merthyr valley from me where we sang the Te Deum every Sunday. I'm blessed to remember it by heart from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

"Let me never be confounded."

[Peter Jones]

Here's the Divine Office version:

We praise you, O God:
we acclaim you as the Lord.
Everlasting Father,
all the world bows down before you.
All the angels sing your praise,
the hosts of heaven and all the angelic powers,
all the cherubim and seraphim
call out to you in unending song:
Holy, Holy, Holy,
is the Lord God of angel hosts!
The heavens and the earth are filled
with your majesty and glory.
The glorious band of apostles,
the noble company of prophets,
the white-robed army who shed their blood for Christ,
all sing your praise.
And to the ends of the earth
your holy Church proclaims her faith in you:
Father, whose majesty is boundless,
your true and only Son, who is to be adored,
the Holy Spirit sent to be our Advocate.
You, Christ, are the king of glory,
Son of the eternal Father.
When you took our nature to save mankind
you did not shrink from birth in the Virgin’s womb.
You overcame the power of death
opening the Father’s kingdom to all who believe in you.
Enthroned at God’s right hand in the glory of the Father,
you will come in judgement according to your promise.
You redeemed your people by your precious blood.
Come, we implore you, to our aid.
Grant us with the saints
a place in eternal glory.
The final part of the hymn may be omitted:
Lord, save your people
and bless your inheritance.
Rule them and uphold them
for ever and ever.
Day by day we praise you:
we acclaim you now and to all eternity.
In your goodness, Lord, keep us free from sin.
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
May your mercy always be with us, Lord,
for we have hoped in you.
In you, Lord, we put our trust:
we shall not be put to shame.

[Peter Jones]

In my Anglican days .......

You mean in your Church in Wales days, I think.

[Hare]

In my Anglican days I played the organ for Matins at a church further down the Merthyr valley from me where we sang the Te Deum every Sunday. I'm blessed to remember it by heart from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

"Let me never be confounded."

A story against myself....

I am an ex-Anglican, and in those days I played for Matins regularly. Gwyn will remember "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth" ....pronounced "Sab-ay-oth" - sounding the "th" as in "though".

Early in my current Catholic job, i told the choir they were pronouncing" Sab-ay-oth" wrongly.... Cringe....oops! Talk about learning on your feet!

[JW]

I notice the last 2 lines of the Office version miss out on the change in the Latin from the collective 'we' throughout the rest of the hymn to the individual 'me' at the end. The Latin ends: In te domine speravi non confundar in aeternum. Patrick Hawes considered that this was an important switch in the hymn and also said that the word "confounded" is so amazing. What does confounded mean? Possibly damnation, but Patrick Hawes prefers the more literal confusion? Hawes' setting ends in a massive climax, building up over the whole final movement with the end deliberately marked ffff