Te Deum - In Nativitatem Domini Canticum

The two works presented here, composed two years apart in 1690 and 1692, respectively, share many similarities despite the one being a totally secular piece celebrating Christmas Eve and the other being a vigil of arms in the Te Deum! At the time, Charpentier was director of music at the Jesuit College and Church of Saint-Louis in Paris. The late 17th century oratorio to which the piece In nativitatem Domini canticum (H.416) belongs is the result of musical forms and traditions, some of which date back to the Middle Ages. There are two main categories of oratorio: the oratorio volgare in the vernacular and the oratorio latino in Latin. These two types developed in parallel in Italy and are not fundamentally different from each other in musical terms.