Te Deum Arvo Pärta. Między kompozytorskim métier a gatunkowym arché

The hymn of Te Deum laudamus is strongly rooted in the tradition of the Christian Church. Its history reaches back to the 14th century. It is a breviary hymn for Sunday and holiday Lauds. With time it emancipated from the Liturgy of the Hours and became an independent basis for many monumental compositions. The hymn by Pärt refers in many ways to the tradition of early music. However, the most essential foundation of the hymn is its own contemporary composer language and unique stylistic conception. Based on the tintinnabuli technique the hymn was influenced by Medieval Latin, Gregorian chorale, double vocal organum and baroque musical rhetoric (suspiratio, anabasis, katabasis, exclamatio etc.). The key is not only stylization of Gregorian chorale in all the verses beginning each part but also diatonic nature of the composition. Pärt’s Te Deum begins and ends with a silence. The internal dramaturgy of the hymn occurs in subtle tensions following one after another. Liturgical references are exposed by the composer by adding Amen and Sanctus to the source text. Te Deum is not a majestic ode to the God, as the hymn is dominated by the imploring and contemplating tone. The quintessence of this musical composition are pleas for mercy (Fiat misericordia tua), hope and belief in the Last Judgement (Iudex crederis esse venturus) featured in the two climax points.