Te Deum

Berlioz's Te Deum is one of his largest works--not quite the extravaganza that he made of the Requiem, with its 4 brass bands and 16 timpanists, but big enough! It requires three choruses, an augmented orchestra, and solo organ. The opening measures, in which the orchestra and organ alternate in throwing huge chords out into space, were made for a cathedral acoustic such is offered here. Unfortunately, that's about the best part of this performance, which takes on a distinctly amateurish cast from there on. The various choruses are simply not up to the demands of the piece (they are utterly defeated by the warlike Judex crederis, just when they should sound strongest), and the conducting, which has to simply blaze with conviction, seems more concerned with simply getting through a tough job. Yet there are no other recordings of this work readily available in the domestic catalog, and this will give you a sense of what the piece is about--but certainly no more than that. --David Hurwitz