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the section began. This time, however, she is
accompanied not only by an almost identical
organ part, but by the choir. At fi rst, the choir
sings in longer notes under the solo but as
the soloist reaches the climactic phrase, the
choir adds one voice at a time as it had on
its fi rst entrance (Figure 5). Choir and soloist
build to one fi nal g 2 for the solo on the
words “for ever at rest.” The soloist resumes
the stepwise triplets of the section’s main
theme which now turn upward for the fi rst
time and then move with choir and organ
supporting chords to the peaceful cadence.
The extremely well-written piece forms
a cohesive whole. Textually, it moves from
a statement of a cry for God to hear to
despair over circumstances to peaceful trust
that God will provide refuge. Altogether, it
seems too large for inclusion in a regular
worship service, although it might serve well
for a special occasion when more music is
required. Contemporary recordings of the
work cover approximately eleven minutes.
Many published editions with organ or keyboard
accompaniment solely consist of the
fi rst section. Some use only the fi nal section,
“O for the Wings of a Dove.”
Te Deum, We Praise Thee, O God
[Preis sei dir, O Gott]
The Te Deum in A major has been described
as “dignifi ed” and “mellifl uous.” 20
Composed in 1832 as part of an English
service project suggested by Vincent Novello,
it is the only one of the proposed
works fi nished that year. The Te Deum and
Jubilate were to form the music for an Anglican
Morning Service and the Magnifi cat
and Nunc dimittis an Evening Service. The
latter three works were completed in 1847
and published posthumously. Mendelssohn
revised the Te Deum in 1846 and it was
published that year in the version for organ,
soloists, and choir.
A largely through-composed piece with
little attempt at unifying the whole; the work
unfolds over fi ve sections with the fi rst section
being the longest. It betrays the infl u-
ence of William Croft and William Boyce,
composers whose works Mendelssohn had
studied in Thomas Attwood’s library. 21 The
use of material from the initial nine measures
at the beginning of the third section
constitutes the only attempt at providing
overall unity in the work. Each section mixes
homophonic phrases with imitative ones,
and all except the second one contrast soli
and tutti. The use of phrases with longer note
values at the end of each section may help
establish a sense of cohesiveness.
In cut time, homophony rules the fi rst
half of the Andante con moto before imitative
entrances on a motive featuring the skip of
a perfect fourth take over. Three phrases
follow that end with the words “praise thee.”
Each of theses phrases begins with a single
voice. When that voice reaches “praise” it
is joined by the two voices closest to it in
range. The word “praise” in each phrase
Choral Journal • April 2010 39