Te Deum Laudamus

St. Matthew's Te Deum was premiered on April 18, 2007 and is similar in mood and treatment to Handel's Dettinger Te Deum. Scored for chamber orchestra, chorus and soloists, it is a particularly joyful work, with solos for tenor and soprano. The text, written both St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, comes from around 330 AD. The version we use is from the Episcopal tradition. The 'Sibley' Songs were commissioned by Frederick Sibley (who also commissioned Newman's Requiem) as a birthday present for his 67th birthday. I have selected eight of them for this CD: How oft, quartet (text by William Shakespeare), Lord of My Love (Shakespeare), To Spring (Susan Lewis, soprano solo - text by William Blake), When in Disgrace (Ray Diaz bass solo, text by Shakespeare), l'Ombre Silencieuse, quartet (text by Comte de Isle), O Father (Ray Diaz - text from the Bible), But Mary Stood (Susan Lewis and Ray Diaz, soloists - text from the Bible), Then What is Love, quartet (text by Shakespeare). From the Songs of Angels: The Hymn (solo by Joan Krause - text by John Milton), How Sweet the Moonlight (David Ossenfort, tenor and Susan Lewis, soprano - text by Shakespeare), Rage (Joan Krause, soprano, Cal Wiersma, violin), Is There Care in Heaven (David Ossenfort, soloist - text by John Spencer), To the Evening Star (Daive Ossenfort, soloist - text by Blake), Song (David Ossenfort, soloist - text by Blake), Blow Your Trumpets Angels (Joan Krause, soloist - text from the Bible).