Choir of the Earth presents: Haydn's Te Deum at Choir of the Earth

Over November/December 2021, Choir of the Earth were taught the Te Deum by the wonderful Hugh Morris, Director of the Royal School of Church Music. Singers from around the world then recorded their own voices singing this magnificent music, and these recordings were combined in the recording studio to create the choir. This concert performance is the premiere of that recording. Nobody met in person during its production. Our recording features the organ from Temple Church in London, which Hans Zimmer used for the soundtrack of Interstellar, saying that, setting foot into Temple Church is like stepping into profound history Temple Church houses one of the most magnificent organs in the world. The organ for our Te Deum course is played by Roger Sayer, the Organist and Director of Music at Temple Church in London. Haydns Te Deum in C Major was written for the Empress Maria Theresa in around 1800. This was the second of two that he wrote, this later one being for choir only and no solo voices. This Te Deum is written in the key of C Major and many settings of Te Deum in the Classical era were in C Major. Mozart and Haydn wrote most of their masses in C Major. Twenty of Joseph Haydn's 104 symphonies are in C Major, making it his second most-used key, second only to D Major. Before the invention of the valves, Haydn did not write trumpet and timpani parts in his symphonies, except those in C Major. Most of Haydn's symphonies in C Major are labelled "festive" and are of a primarily celebratory mood.We do hope you will join us and enjoy this joyful celebration of Haydn's wonderful music and the accomplishment of our international singers.