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Photo of Esterhazá, residence of the Esterházy family
The centerpiece of this year’s Spring Concert is Franz Joseph Haydn’s Te Deum in C Major. The Te Deum text is a standard and well-known text, which has been set to music by countless composers through the centuries, even unto today. Haydn was an Austrian composer who spent most of his career working for a family of Hungarian Princes, the Esterházy family. He was a contemporary of Mozart and once (briefly) gave lessons to Beethoven. Joseph Haydn was quite a prolific composer of chamber, orchestral and choral works.
Haydn’s Te Deum in C Major is a short work of about eight or nine minutes (depending upon the desired tempo) and is in three, seamless sections or one might say, movements. The exhilarating opening and closing allegro sections surround a slower, contrasting movement, which offers a much needed repose.
It is a challenging piece, with its many interwoven musical lines and overlapping thematic material. All three of Union’s choirs will come together to sing this exciting work. It will go by quickly, too quickly for my taste considering not only the majestic nature of the work, but also because of all the many hours the choirs will put into learning it!!
The program will also include numerous shorter (octavo in length) works, which will compliment Haydn’s Te Deum.
Please use the following link to view and listen to a recording of this work. And don’t forget to put
Tuesday, April 21st on your calendar. The concert begins at 8:00 p.m. in Conway Boatman Chapel and is free and open to the public.