Francisco António de Almeida: Te Deum (Louvamos-te, ó Deus) | 1742-50

By Francisco António De Almeida (– ) Lyrics: Te Deum laudamus, Latin Christian hymn Year composed: 1742-50 First performance: Jesuit Church of St Roque in Lisbon, Portugal Large-scale concertato works with full instrumental accompaniment were the norm for votive ceremonies of a propitiatory nature or in thanksgiving for providence in Portugal churches. One of such ceremonies was the Te Deum at the year’s end in the Jesuit Church of St Roque in Lisbon, to which the court always attended. As this was a public function, face-to-face display of the king with the symbol of the Eucharist had an obvious allegorical significance, relating to the apotheosis of secular and spiritual powers ambiguously united in the monarch. In 1718, King João V (Portuguese “Sun King“) determined that, from that year on, the ceremony would be made in the manner of Rome. Settings of the year’s end Te Deum were typically for four or five choirs alternating with plainchant sung by clergymen,