At one time there was some confusion regarding the actual author of this early classical Te Deum—it has occasionally been attributed to Michael Haydn, the composer's brother and a prolific composer in his own right. However, it is now generally accepted as a genuine work by the more famous Franz Joseph. Scored for chorus, four soli (SATB), strings, trumpets and timpani (some sources also contain oboe parts), the Te Deum is heavily dependent on the Austrian tradition of liturgical music, and contains few traces of the innovation so characteristic of later works by its composer.

The first of its three sections is in C major, primarily homophonic in texture, and introduces the tenor solo (the other three soloists must wait until the third, and final, section to have their say). Following a half cadence, the second, much more active section begins. The winds and timpani drop out, and the dynamic drops to a hushed piano level as Haydn slides around between various harmonies (unlike the tonally more stable first section). In the last section, as noted above, the other soloists become involved. An impressive fugal section commences, at the close of which material from the opening section reappears to provide the entire Te Deum with a sense of structural balance.

© All Music Guide