This is simultaneously the best and worst-known classical piece in Europe, best because of the famous prelude with its soaring trumpet line, long used as the Eurovision tune, worst because most folk haven't the faintest idea what comes next. Today's "Discothek im 2" on Swiss Radio featured five relatively recent recordings; here's a link: [URL]http://www.drs.ch/index.cfm?gbAction=35C877B1-ACC6-4B4C-B2E51903C40ED627&CategoryNodeID=06DFCF9D-1FD1-11D5-BE010002A507D34A[/URL] I've always been rather fond of it, to the point of having the famous fanfare as our wedding march (it is not often heard in Australia, so I was safe!). Erato's first record was the Te Deum, and this recording became rather famous (relatively speaking) because of two unknown young musicians, an organist called Marie-Claire Alain and a trumpet player called Maurice André. I still have a weakness for this old recording with the mighty André soaring in the stratosphere. The Te Deum is a curious mix of intimate and great pomp. Nobody has the faintest idea why it was composed (at the time French court music was dominated by the tyrannical Lully, and Charpentier was somewhat of an outsider). As a result, it may be played in all sorts of styles, and the Discothek certainly produced some. In the end, it came down to two, Marc Minowski's (which I have) and one I hadn't heard, by Concert Spirituel on Naxos, which I must look out for. Bill Christie's also got quite good marks (it has the unusual feature of starting with a drum solo before the high-flying trumpet comes in. The Minowski is typical Minowski, high energy, but his Musiciens du Louvre meet the challenge well. The CD also has the charming Messe de Minuit for Christmas, made up of old French Christmas carol melodies. The French baroque doesn't get nearly as good a billing as its English and German counterparts, hardly surprising when they have to contend with giants such as Bach, Telemann and Handel. But Charpentier's Te Deum is a reminder that the French composers did produce some very good stuff.