Handel’s Utrecht Te Deum (HWV 278) received its first performance in St Paul’s Cathedral on 7 July 1713 during the celebrations for the Treaty of Utrecht. It is among his first compositions for the Anglican Church and accordingly he set the words of the Te Deum an ancient ecclesiastical hymn of obscure origins in English translation (‘We praise thee O God’). The score though richly orchestrated as befitted the occasion dispenses with timpani which like the harpsichord were probably omitted from the première owing to shortage of space. - Urtext of the Halle Handel Edition - Full score and performance material(BA4246) and vocal score (BA424690) available for sale
