"TE DEUM". - Also called Hymnus ambrosianus or Hymnus S. Trinitatis, it is a solemn hymn of praise and thanksgiving in honor of the Most Holy Trinity. It consists of two parts with an addition of 8 psalm verses. The first part ("Te Deum... confitetur Ecclesia": 1-10; "Patrem... Spiritum": 11-13) consists of a praise of the Father followed by a kind of Trinitarian doxology. The second ("Tu rex... numerari": 14-21) is a Christological praise. The 8 added verses were detached from the "Gloria in excelsis", where they were originally joined together, and derive: vv. 22 and 23 from Psalm 27:9; vv. 24 and 25 from Psalm 144:2 (of the Roman version); v. 26 is a morning verse, which also occurs in the canonical hour of "Prime"; v. 27 derives from Psalm 122:3; v. 28 from 32:22 and v. 29 from 30:2.
The T. D. does not appear to be an original composition; therefore it is more properly a question of a compiler than of an author. In fact, the first part is the oldest and derives from an anaphora: the biblical trisagion occurs in the liturgical form, the Prophets are cited (of the first Christian centuries)
after the Apostles, only the martyrs are mentioned, not the confessors; vv. 7-9 seem to come from Cyprian (De mortalitate, c. 26). An ancient Greek version of the first part (vv. 1-10) exists. The second part, with its Christological praise, corresponds well to the times of the 4th century and the early 5th, as the rules of the "cursus" observed therein (more than in the first) show the time of composition to be the 4th-5th century. The psalmodic verses indicate a time before 389, the era of St. Jerome's revision.
Recently, in comparison with a group of Greek evening hymns, Baumstark has identified a very ancient type of hymn, among which the T. D. could worthily figure. A very appealing legend attributes its composition to Sts. Ambrose and Augustine; but it dates only from the 12th century. St. Hilary, a Sisibutus, and an Abundius are also named as authors. In the oldest codices the T. D. is an antepigraf. With valid arguments Morin proves that its author is Nicetas of Remesiana ([v.] d. after 414); however, not without contradictions. The T. D. was known in the 5th century on the monastic island of Lérins, whence St. Caesarius (at Lérins in 489-98) and St. Aurelian of Arles prescribe it in their Rules for Sundays. From Lérins, where it was ca. 415-20, St. Patrick perhaps brought the T. D. to Ireland on his return in 432; indeed, the Irish codices are the oldest that transmit its text.
The T. D. has been used since the time of St. Benedict (Reg., c. XI) at the end of the night office of Sundays and feasts (in Rome, at St. Peter's in the time of Amalarius, 8th-9th centuries), only on the anniversary feasts of the popes, on days when the "Gloria" is said at Mass. In the Celtic liturgy the T. D. serves as the eucharistic chant "when the priests communicate"; likewise in the Gallican liturgy, where it is also found as a chant of thanksgiving. In the Roman liturgy it enters as a chant of praise, of thanksgiving, of triumph (at the consecration of bishops, at the blessing of abbots, kings and queens, and at all the most solemn moments).
Da notare alcune varianti importanti del testo antico: al v. 16 « ad liberandum mundum suscepisti hominem » (oggi « ad liberandum suscepturus hominem ») e il v. 21 « gloria munerari » (oggi « in gloria numerari »).
In the melody two incipits can be distinguished, one after v. 13 and the other after v. 21. The melody of the first part (1-13) seems to be sung in the manner of the Preface, while the second follows Gregorian psalm tone IV.
Bibliography17 works
Pietro Siffrin