The Te Deum was one of the major cultural emblems of the French court in the late 17th and early 18th centuries; in the apt phrasing of annotator
Bénédicte Hertz
on this 2024
Alpha
release, it "exploited two key driving forces of kingly politics: glorification and fear." The splendid trumpet-and-drum sound has made the
Charpentier
Te Deum
heard here into one of the enduring hits of the Baroque era; it even turned up as a theme song for the Eurovision Song Contest a few years back.
Ensemble Les Surprises
and its imposingly named director,
Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas
, deliver a strong version with crack playing; it can stand with any others among the many on the market, and
backs up the performances with a spacious but never muddy acoustic at the Metz Arsenal that retains detail and doesn't let the fine soloists get lost. However, what really makes this release a standout is the presence of
another Te Deum
;
's is the only one that is commonly heard. The
Te Deum "de Lyon"
of
Henry Desmarest
here receives its world premiere. It was also written for the French court; the
"de Lyon"
moniker seems to come from the fact that a copy of the manuscript is housed there. The work is entirely satisfying. It is later than
's work and breaks up the Te Deum text differently, allowing more room for the Italianate arias that were beginning to creep into French music, but the imposing quality of the genre is not lost, and this makes for interesting tensions. Lovers of the French Baroque will find that the music here enriches their understanding of the court and its mighty musical apparatus, and really, this is pleasing music for anyone, even Eurovision fans. This release landed on classical best-seller charts in early 2024. ~ James Manheim