At the age of 20 Mendelssohn had already arranged some of Handel’s great works for the Berlin Singakademie, including the Dettingen Te Deum, and he suited them to the tastes of his time.

Thus, in large part he retained the original music and added wind parts, which were completely new. A special aspect is represented by Zelter’s German text which, among other things, also proved how important and popular the Dettingen Ted Deum was during Mendelssohn’s time.