First performed in 1936,[1] this Budavári Te Deum is in a traditional Hungarian folk-music idiom but employs creative compositional methods unique to Kodály.
[2] It is sometimes referred to as the “Ambrosian Hymn” because the text was once believed to be by St. Ambrose,[3] but it is now attributed to Nicetas, Bishop of Remesiana.
The works of these two composers use certain pentatonic groups, isometric strophe structure, and tempo giusto most commonly.
Not only does one see stepwise motion in two of the voices (one of the common pentatonic groups he uses), but one also notices the leap of a fourth in the first measure in the bass line.
This is a technique of Hungarian folk music that Kodály commonly uses, and continues to use consistently throughout Te Deum, particularly in the bass line.