The Magnificat, in Latin also canticum Beat(issim)ae Virginis Mariae (the song of the (most) Blessed Virgin Mary), is a common part of Christian worship, for instance traditionally included in vespers, evensong or matins. [1] [2] As such it is often sung and was set to music by various composers.
In Gregorian chant the Magnificat is sung according to the eight traditional psalm tones:
Composers, or collections of compositions, referring to or using all eight of the traditional Gregorian psalm tone settings of the Magnificat include the Choirbook, D-Ju MS 20 (various composers), the sixteen Magnificats by Palestrina, the Enchiridion utriusque musicae practicae by Georg Rhau, and Johann Pachelbel's Magnificat fugues . [3]
Also the newer psalm tones were used for Magnificat settings:
Apart from the Magnificat sung to the psalm tones, in Gregorian chant there are also the Magnificat antiphons or O Antiphons inspiring composers like Arvo Pärt.
In seventeenth century polyphony no other religious text, apart from the Mass Ordinary, was set more often than the Magnificat. Often only six out of twelve verses of the Magnificat were set in polyphony, performance alternating verses sung in polyphony and verses sung in monody according to the church tone. In such alternatim settings the even verses were chosen more often for setting in polyphony, because they contained the last verse of the doxology, so that the singing of the Magnificat ended with a piece in polyphony. [5]
Odd verses | Even verses | ||
---|---|---|---|
1. ( Luke1:46 ) | Magnificat anima mea Dominum. | 2. ( Luke1:47 ) | Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo. |
3. ( Luke1:48 ) | Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes. | 4. ( Luke1:49 ) | Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est et sanctum nomen ejus. |
5. ( Luke1:50 ) | Et misericordia ejus a progenie in progenies timentibus eum. | 6. ( Luke1:51 ) | Fecit potentiam in brachio suo dispersit superbos mente cordis sui. |
7. ( Luke1:52 ) | Deposuit potentes de sede et exaltavit humiles. | 8. ( Luke1:53 ) | Esurientes implevit bonis et divites dimisit inanes. |
9. ( Luke1:54 ) | Suscepit Israel puerum suum recordatus misericordiae suae. | 10. ( Luke1:55 ) | Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros Abraham et semini ejus in saecula. |
11. (doxology) | Gloria Patri, et Filio et Spiritui Sancto. | 12. (doxology) | Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper et in saecula saeculorum. Amen. |
Examples of such settings include the sixteen Magnificat settings by Cristóbal de Morales: half of these include only the odd verses ("anima mea" settings), the others only the even verses ("Et exultavit" settings) – both series of eight settings by Morales have one setting per traditional church tone.
From around 1600 such Magnificats are also composed for the organ, e.g. Jean Titelouze's 1626 Le Magnificat ou Cantique de la Vierge pour toucher sur l'orgue suivant les huit tons de l'Église (odd versets).
In the Baroque era the "cantata form" for religious compositions originated in Italy: like masses in the Neapolitan style, Magnificats could be set as a succession of self-contained sections in a variety of styles, choruses alternating with arias for solo singers. [6] [7] [8] Francesco Durante's 1752 Magnificat in A minor is an example of a composition in this style.
In Anglicanism a Magnificat is usually combined with a Nunc dimittis in an (Evening) Service, in which case the English translation of the text ("My soul doth magnify the Lord") is used. For example, Orlando Gibbons composed such Services. In Orthodox Christianity the Magnificat, or "Song of the Theotokos", is sung in the Orthros (matins) as part of the Canon. All-night vigils include the Orthros, and a setting of such vigil thus usually includes the setting of a Magnificat, e.g. the "Canticle of the Theotokos" («Величитъ душа моя Господа», Velichit dusha moya Gospoda, "My soul doth magnify the Lord"), No. 13 in Tchaikovsky's All-Night Vigil.
Composer | Born | Died | Magnificat compositions |
---|---|---|---|
John Dunstaple | c. 1390 | 1453 | Three Magnificats |
Guillaume Dufay | c. 1397 | 1474 | Three Magnificats, e.g. Magnificat Quinti Toni |
Gilles Binchois | c. 1400 | 1460 | Magnificats, e.g. Magnificat 3ii Toni |
Hugh Kellyk | ? | fl.c. 1480 | Magnificat a 5 – see Eton Choirbook [9] |
John Nesbet | ? | 1488 (?) | Magnificat – see Eton Choirbook [9] |
William Horwood | c. 1430 | 1484 | Magnificat secundi toni a 5 (SATTB) – see Eton Choirbook [9] |
Gaspar van Weerbeke | c. 1445 | after 1516 | Magnificat |
Alexander Agricola | 1445 or 1446 | 1506 | Magnificat primi toni; Magnificat secundi toni; Magnificat octavi toni; (doubtful:) two Magnificat quarti toni |
Josquin des Prez | c. 1450/1455 | 1521 | Magnificat quarti toni; Magnificat tertii toni (both attributed on stylistic grounds), see e.g. Cancionero de Segovia |
Edmund Turges | c. 1450? | 1501 or later | One extant Magnificat in Caius Choirbook ; Three Magnificats lost in Eton Choirbook [9] |
Walter Lambe | 1450–1? | 1504 or later | Magnificat in Eton Choirbook [9] |
Robert Wylkynson | 1450 or later | 1515 or later | Magnificats (one fragment, one lost) in Eton Choirbook [9] |
William, Monk of Stratford | ? | fl.c. late 15th century | One four-part Magnificat in Eton Choirbook [9] |
Pierre de la Rue | c. 1452 | 1518 | Eight Magnificats, see e.g. Choirbook, D-Ju MS 20 |
John Browne | 1453 (?) | fl.c. 1490 | One extant Magnificat; Three Magnificats lost – see Eton Choirbook [9] |
Jean Mouton | c. 1459 | 1522 | Nine Magnificats, see e.g. Choirbook, D-Ju MS 20 |
Antoine Brumel | c. 1460 | 1512 or 1513 | Magnificat primi toni; Magnificat secundi toni; Magnificat sexti toni; (doubtful:) Magnificat octavi toni – see e.g. Cancionero de Segovia ; |
Vasco Pires | ? | c. 1509 | Magnificat quarti toni a 2; Magnificat quarti toni a 4 |
Juan de Anchieta | 1462 | 1523 | Magnificat sexti toni; Magnificat tertii toni – See e.g. Cancionero de Segovia |
Robert Fayrfax | 1464 | 1521 | Magnificat 'O bone Jesu' a 5 (STTTB); Magnificat 'Regale' (SATTB) |
Jerzy Liban | 1464 | after 1546 | Nine Magnificats in Tonus I–IX (1540) |
Pedro de Escobar | c. 1465 | c. 1535 | 3vv |
Richard Davy | c. 1465 | 1507 | Magnificats – see Eton Choirbook [9] |
William Cornysh | 1465 | 1523 | Magnificat in Caius Choirbook ; Other Magnificat lost |
Antoine de Févin | c. 1470 | 1511 or 1512 | Three Magnificats, see e.g. Choirbook, D-Ju MS 20 |
Francisco de Peñalosa | c. 1470 | 1528 | Magnificat primi toni, tertii toni, quarti toni (2), sexti toni, octavi toni (2) – see e.g. Lira sacro hispana |
Antonius Divitis | c. 1470 | c. 1530 | Magnificats, see e.g. Choirbook, D-Ju MS 20 |
Jean Richafort | c. 1480 | c. 1547 | Magnificats, one included in Magnificat cum 4 vocibus, Book 1 (Venice, 1542) |
Jacquet of Mantua | 1483 | 1559 | Magnificats, e.g. two in Magnificat cum 4 vocibus, Book 1 (Venice, 1542) |
Loyset Piéton | ? | fl.c. 1530 | Magnificat included in Magnificat cum 4 vocibus, Book 1 (Venice, 1542) |
Ludwig Senfl | c. 1490 | 1543 | Magnificats (Tonus I-VIII) |
John Taverner | c. 1490 | 1545 | Magnificats for 4, 5 or 6 voices |
Johannes Galliculus | c. 1490 | c. 1550 | Magnificat quarti toni (a 4); Magnificat quinti toni (a 4); Magnificat septimi toni (a 4) |
Adrian Willaert | c. 1490 | 1562 | Two Magnificats in I sacri e santi salmi che si cantano a Vespro e Compieta ... a quatro voci (1555) |
Sixt Dietrich | c. 1494 | 1548 | Magnificat octo tonorum for four voices (1535) |
Nicolas Gombert | c. 1495 | c. 1560 | Eight Magnificats for five voices, Tonus I–VIII (1552) |
Tugdual Menon | before 1502 | 1566–68 | Magnificat included in Magnificat cum 4 vocibus, Book 1 (Venice, 1542) |
Cristóbal de Morales | c. 1500 | 1553 | 18 Magnificat settings: five published in Venice in 1542; sixteen copied by Zelenka in the 18th century |
Mattheus Le Maistre | c. 1505 | 1577 | Magnificat octo tonorum (1557) |
Thomas Tallis | c. 1505 | 1585 | Magnificat (a 4) in Dorian Service |
Vincenzo Ruffo | c. 1508 | 1587 | Magnificats |
Antonio de Cabezón | 1510 | 1566 | sets of six or seven Magnificat verses in eight tones |
Christian Hollander | c. 1510–15 | 1568–69 | Ten Magnificats (using eight tones, two versions in seventh and eight tone) |
Cipriano de Rore | 1515–16 | 1565 | Magnificats, including Magnificat sexti toni |
Hoste da Reggio | c. 1520 | 1569 | Eight Magnificats for four voices in all traditional tones (Milan, 1550) |
Giovanni Animuccia | c. 1520 | 1571 | Magnificats |
Bernardino de Ribera | c. 1520 | c. 1571–72 | Magnificats, see e.g. Lira sacro hispana |
Philippe de Monte | 1521 | 1603 | Magnificats |
Girolamo Cavazzoni | c. 1525 | after 1577 | In Intavolatura [...] libro primo (Venice, 1543): Magnificat primi toni, octavi toni; In Intabulatura d'organo [...] libro secondo (Venice c.1543–1549): Magnificat quarti toni, sexti toni |
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina | c. 1525 | 1594 | 35 Magnificats |
Ludwig Daser | c. 1526 | 1589 | 2 Magnificats [10] |
Annibale Padovano | 1527 | 1575 | Magnificats |
Francisco Guerrero | 1527 or 1528 | 1599 | Magnificats in all traditional tones, some with only even or only odd verses – a 4, a 5 or a 6 (Leuven 1563, Rome 1584, Nüremberg 1591, Venice 1597). E.g. Magnificat on the 4th tone (even verses); Magnificats included in Visperas de Reyes and in Lira sacro hispana |
Orlande de Lassus | 1530 or 1532 | 1594 | Over 100 Magnificats, e.g. Magnificat Octavi Toni |
Jacobus de Kerle | 1531 or 1532 | 1591 | Eight odd verse and eight even verse Magnificats in Magnificat octo tonum cum quatuor vocibus (Venice, 1561); Magnificat from Hymni totius anni ... et Magnificat (1558) lost |
Hernando Franco | 1532 | 1585 | Eight odd verse and eight even verse Magnificats in eight tones in The Franco Codex (third tone ones lost) |
Gallus Dressler | 1533 | c. 1585 | Magnificat octo tonorum ... (Magdeburg, 1571) |
Alard du Gaucquier | c. 1534 | c. 1582 | Magnificat octo tonorum (even verses, four to six voices, 1574) |
Ippolito Chamaterò | late 1530s | after 1592 | Magnificats |
Paolo Isnardi | c. 1536 | 1596 | Psalmi omnes ad vesperas ... vna cum tribus Magnificat, quorum vnum tum pari tum plena voce ... quatuor vocum (Venice, 1569); Magnificat omnitoni cum quatuor quinque et sex vocibus ... (Venice, 1582) |
Hercules | ? | fl.c. 1587 (?) | Magnificat omnitonum quatuor vocibus cum completorio, et quatuor antiphonis B. V. M. (Venice, 1587) |
Francesco Rovigo | 1540/1541 | 1597 | Three Magnificat settings |
William Byrd | c. 1540/43 | 1623 | Magnificat from Great Service , Second Service , Short Service ; Third Service ; "Tones and Fauxbourdons" |
Simone Gatto | c. 1545 | 1595 | (Parody) Magnificats |
Pedro de Cristo | c. 1545 | 1618 | Magnificat secundi, quarti, quinti, sexti, septimi & octavi toni a 4 |
Balduin Hoyoul | 1547-8 | 1594 | Eight four-voice parody Magnificats (Tonus I–VIII) |
Tomás Luis de Victoria | c. 1548 | 1611 | Magnificats: even verses, Tonus I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII – odd verses, Tonus I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII – all (1600): Tonus I for 8 voices, Tonus VI for 12 voices |
Jacobus Flori | c. 1550 | fl. 1571–1588 | Cantiones sacrae quinque vocum quas vulgo Motectas vocant quibus adjunctae sunt octo Magnificat secundum octo tonos […] tum omnivario instrumentorum concentui [...] (1599) |
Theodorus Leonardus | ? | fl. before 1600 (?) | A set of four-voice Magnificats through the eight tones (?) (1594) |
Sebastián de Vivanco | c. 1551 | 1622 | Eighteen Magnificats, see e.g. Lira sacro hispana |
Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi | c. 1554 | 1609 | Several Magnificats, e.g. Magnificat an Otto Voci (SATB/SATB, 1601) |
Girolamo Diruta | c. 1554 | after 1610 | Eight organ Magnificats in eight tones (most of them with transpositions), e.g. Magnificat 5to tuono in A Minor |
Alonso Lobo | 1555 | 1617 | Antiphona ad Magnificat: O quam suavis est, Domine |
Giovanni Croce | 1557 | 1609 | Magnificat omnium tonorum for six voices (1605) |
Giovanni Gabrieli | 1557 | 1612 | Magnificats for 8 and 12 voices in Sacrae symphoniae (1597) |
Paul Homberger | 1559/1560 | 1634 | Magnificat 2 vocum (cycle) |
Giulio Belli | c. 1560 | c. 1621 | Psalmi ad vesperas ... duoque cantica beatae virginis ... (1592); Psalmi ad vesperas ... duoque cantica beatae virginis (1596); Psalmi ad vesperas in totius anni festivitatibus, ac tria cantica Beatae Virginis Mariae (1603) |
Hieronymus Praetorius | 1560 | 1629 | Full Magnificat cycle for organ (Tonus I-VIII + 'Germanice', 1611); Magnificats a 8 in all traditional Gregorian tones, among which a Magnificat 5. Toni cum canticis Ecclesiasticis (i.e. with Christmas interpolations, 1622) |
Sebastian Aguilera de Heredia | 1561 | 1627 | Canticum Beatissimae Virginis Deiparae Mariae (1618): four-, five-, six- and eight-voice settings, each in eight tones, some with even, some with odd verses |
Jean Titelouze | 1562/3 | 1633 | Le Magnificat ou Cantique de la Vierge pour toucher sur l'orgue suivant les huit tons de l'Église (1626) |
Duarte Lobo | c. 1565 | 1646 | Magnificat primi, secundi, tertii, quarti, quinti, sexti, septimi & octavi toni |
Manuel Cardoso | 1566 | 1650 | "Cantica Beatae Mariae Virginis" (1613) |
Christoph Demantius | 1567 | 1643 | Trias precum vespertinum, qua continetur canticum B. Mariae Virginis, (etc.) (Nuremberg, 1602) |
Claudio Monteverdi | 1567 | 1643 | Two Magnificats included in Vespro della Beata Vergine (1610) and two in Selva morale e spirituale (1640–41) |
Adriano Banchieri | 1568 | 1634 | Magnificats |
Paul Sartorius | 1569 | 1609 | Eight Magnificats a 6 in Chorbuch W.b. XIV (Salzburg, 1601) |
Jakob Hassler | 1569 | 1622 | Magnificat 8 tonorum for four voices, even verses (1601) |
Melchior Vulpius | c. 1570 | 1615 | Canticum Beatissimae Virginis Mariae (Jena, 1605) |
Giovanni Paolo Cima | c. 1570 | 1622 | In Concerti Ecclesiastici (SATB and continuo, 1610): No. 42 Magnificat Quinti Toni, No. 43 Magnificat Sesti Toni |
Michael Praetorius | 1571 (?) | 1621 | Several Magnificats, e.g. Magnificat "Ut re mi fa sol la", Magnificat "In te, Domine, speravi" and Magnificat "Chorale melos germanicum" included in Megalynodia Sionia (1611); Magnificat Primi Toni (organ) |
Filipe de Magalhães | c. 1571 | 1652 | "Cantica Beatissimae Virginis" (1636) |
Estêvão Lopes Morago | c. 1575 | 1630 | Magnificat primi, tertii, quarti & octavi toni |
Johann Stadlmayr | c. 1575 | 1648 | Among others, ten Magnificats (seven of them parodies) in Sacrum Beatissimae Virginis Canticum (1603) |
Erhard Bodenschatz | 1576 | 1636 | Das schöne und geistreiche Magnificat der hochgelobten Jungfrauen Mariae (...) auf die zwölf modos musicales in ihrer natürlichen Ordnung unterschiedlich mit vier Stimmen gesetzt. (Leipzig, 1599) |
Stefano Bernardi | c. 1577 | 1637 | Several Magnificat settings, including Magnificat for 4 voices, Magnificat for 5 voices, Magnificat for 6 voices |
Melchior Franck | c. 1579 | 1639 | Laudes Dei vespertinae (Coburg, 1622) |
Orlando Gibbons | 1583 | 1625 | Magnificat ("My soul doth magnify the Lord") in Short Service (SATB), in Second Service (voices and organ) |
Girolamo Frescobaldi | 1583 | 1643 | Magnificat primi toni, Magnificat secundi toni and Magnificat sesti toni in Secondo libro di toccate (organ, 1627) |
Heinrich Schütz | 1585 | 1672 | One Latin Magnificat (1665 or earlier), five German Magnificats (three extant: in Symphoniae sacrae II, 1643; in Zwölf geistliche Gesänge, 1657; in Swan Song, 1671) |
Johann Hermann Schein | 1586 | 1630 | Magnificat, odd verses, ST and continuo, No. 26 in Opella nova (1618); "Meine Seele erhebt den Herren", four-part harmonization of Luther's German Magnificat in Cantional oder Gesangbuch Augspurgischer Confession (1627, 1645) |
Jacob Praetorius | 1586 | 1651 | Magnificat cycle, Magnificat Primi Toni (organ) |
Antoine Boësset | 1587 | 1643 | Magnificat |
Samuel Scheidt | 1587 | 1654 | 18 Magnificats, e.g. in Tabulatura Nova (organ, 1624): Canon a 3 "Et exultavit" SSWV 122–123 and Magnificat 1–9 toni SSWV 140–148; in Geistliche Konzerte: three Magnificats with German interpolations, e.g. SSWV 299 for Christmas (SSATTB, 1635), and a German Magnificat, SSWV 331 (SATB and basso continuo, 1640) |
Heinrich Pfendner | c. 1588 | 1631 | Magnificat |
Jacob Schedlich | 1591 | 1669 | Magnificat et intonationes precum verspertinarum (1613) |
Melchior Schildt | 1592 or 1593 | 1667 | Magnificat I. toni (organ) |
Heinrich Scheidemann | c. 1595 | 1663 | Magnificats for organ: Tonus I (WV 14),II (WV 15),III (WV 16),IV (WV 17),V (WV 18),VI (WV 19),VII (WV 65),VIII (WV 20, 66) |
Giovanni Rovetta | 1596 | 1668 | Magnificats in Salmi concertati, Op. 1 (1626) and in Vespro solenne (1639) |
Giovanni Giacomo Arrigoni | 1597 | 1675 | Magnificat in Salmi [...] con vn Magnificat A Cinque voci concertate & due violini, Op. 9 (1663) |
Johann Crüger | 1598 | 1662 | Meine seele erhebet den Herren |
Giovanni Battista Fasolo | c. 1598 | 1664 | Organ Magnificats in eight tones in Annuale, Op. 8 |
Thomas Selle | 1599 | 1663 | Meine seele erhebet den Herren |
Francesco Cavalli | 1602 | 1676 | Magnificats, e.g. Magnificat à 8 in Musiche Sacre 1656; Magnificats in 1675 vespers |
Francesco Foggia | 1604 | 1688 | Magnificats, e.g. in Psalmodia Vespertina; Magnificat for 5 voices and continuo; Magnificat concertata con instromenti di 6 tono for SSATB/SATB choir (1665) |
Henry Dumont | 1610 | 1684 | Magnificat for chorus and instruments Magnificat anima mea for double chorus and orchestra |
Hieronymus (III) Praetorius | 1614 | 1629 | Magnificat I. toni (organ, formerly attributed to Hieronymus (I) Praetorius) |
Johann Erasmus Kindermann | 1616 | 1655 | Intonatio Magnificat 4. Toni and Magnificat Octavi Toni in Harmonia Organica (1645) ⓘ |
Matthias Weckmann | 1616 (?) | 1674 | Magnificat II. toni (organ) |
Isabella Leonarda | 1620 | 1704 | Magnificat op. 19 no. 10] |
Johann Caspar Kerll | 1627 | 1693 | Modulatio organica super Magnificat octo ecclesiasticis tonis respondens (Munich, 1686) |
João de Figueiredo Borges | ? | 1674 | Magnificat sexti toni a 8; Magnificat septimi toni a 8 |
Nicolas Lebègue | 1631 | 1702 | Livre d'orgue No.2 (1678), containing "...versets de Magnificat dans les 8 tons ecclésiastiques" |
Dietrich Buxtehude | c. 1637/39 | 1707 | Chorale preludes (organ): two Magnificat primi toni (BuxWV 203–204) and Magnificat noni toni (BuxWV 205); Attributed: Magnificat for SSATB, two violins and continuo, BuxWV Anh. 1 |
Cristoforo Caresana | c. 1640 | 1709 | Magnificats a 4, a 5, a 8 and a 16, e.g. Magnificat for SAATB (1683) |
Marc-Antoine Charpentier | 1643 | 1704 | Ten Magnificats, e.g. Magnificat for soloists, chorus, 2 treble instruments and continuo H 72 (1670?); Magnificat for ATB, two treble instruments and continuo, H. 73 (1670–71); Magnificat à 8 voix et 8 instruments, H. 74 for soloists, double chorus, double orchestra and double continuo (1680); Magnificat à 3 dessus for 3 voices and continuo H 75; (1683–85); Magnificat à 4 voix sans instruments, H. 76 (1688–90) ; Magnificat for soloists, chorus, flutes, strings an continuo H 77 (1680–90); Magnificat for soloists, chorus flutes, strings and continuo H 78 (1680-90 ?); Troisième Magnificat à 4 voix avec instruments for soloists, chorus, flutes, strings and continuo H 79 (1690); Magnificat for 4 voices and continuo H 80(1690); Magnificat pour le Port-Royal for soloists, chorus and continuo H 81(1690–1700). |
Jacques Boyvin | c. 1649 | 1706 | Organ Suites for the Magnificat |
Johann Pachelbel | 1653 | 1706 | Magnificats, e.g. in D major (P. 246); Magnificat fugues (organ); Chorale preludes: Meine Seele erhebt den Herren (Magnificat peregrini toni) |
Henry Purcell | 1659 | 1695 | Magnificats ("My soul doth magnify the lord"): in B-flat major, Z 230/7 (before 1682) and in G minor, Z 231/1 |
Johann Kuhnau | 1660 | 1722 | Magnificat in C major for SATB soloists, SSATB chorus and orchestra |
Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow | 1663 | 1712 | Cantata Meine Seele erhebt den Herren |
Pietro Torri | c. 1665 | 1737 | Magnificat in C major à 15 et più (arranged by J. S. Bach: BWV Anh. 30) [11] |
Antonio Caldara | 1670 | 1736 | Magnificat in C major [12] (arranged by J. S. Bach: BWV 1082) [13] |
Louis-Nicolas Clérambault | 1676 | 1749 | Magnificat, C. 136; Magnificat du 1er ton, C. 154 |
Nicola Fago | 1677 | 1745 | Magnificats for SSATB/SSATB & instruments in G minor, in F minor (1710), for SSATB & orchestra in D major |
Antonio Vivaldi | 1678 | 1741 | Magnificat (RV 610/610a/610b/611) [14] ⓘ , ⓘ , ⓘ , ⓘ , ⓘ , ⓘ , ⓘ , ⓘ , ⓘ |
Melchior Hoffmann | c. 1679 | 1715 | Meine Seele erhebt den Herren (Hoffmann); (or J. S. Bach?) Meine Seele rühmt und preist, BWV 189 |
Jan Dismas Zelenka | 1679 | 1745 | Magnificats: in A minor (ZWV 106, lost), in C major (ZWV 107, c. 1727); in D major (ZWV 108, 1725) |
Jean-Adam Guilain | c. 1680 | after 1739 | Eight Magnificats in Pièces d'Orgue pour le Magnificat (1706), of which the first four are extant (Tonus I-IV) |
Johann Mattheson | 1681 | 1764 | Deutsches Magnificat a due cori (eight voices and orchestra, 1718) |
Georg Philipp Telemann | 1681 | 1767 | TWV 1:1104–1108 cantatas, e.g. Meine Seele erhebt den Herrn; Magnificat anima mea for SATBB and orchestra, TWV 9:17; Das deutsche magnificat for SATB and orchestra, TWV 9:18 |
Jean-François Dandrieu | c. 1682 | 1738 | Pièces d'orgue, Livre 1 (1739): 6 Suites in major and minor keys, each containing a six-movement Magnificat, e.g. ⓘ |
Johann David Heinichen | 1683 | 1729 | Magnificats: in G major (S. 89),in A major (S. 90),in F major (S. 91/92),in B flat major (S. 93/94/95),in E flat major (S. 96) |
Christoph Graupner | 1683 | 1760 | Magnificat, GWV 1172/22 (1722); Visitation cantatas "Meine Seele erhebt den Herrn": GWV 1171/19, 1171/46 |
Francesco Durante | 1684 | 1755 | Magnificats e.g. in B-flat major (sometimes misattributed to Pergolesi), in A minor (1752) |
Johann Sebastian Bach | 1685 | 1750 | Magnificat BWV 243a (1723, with Christmas interpolations) – BWV 243 (1733) ⓘ ; Cantata Meine Seel erhebt den Herren, BWV 10 (1724); Chorale harmonizations BWV 323 – 324; Schübler Chorale No. 4, BWV 648 (organ) |
Nicola Porpora | c. 1686 | 1766 | Magnificat in A minor |
Johann Friedrich Fasch | 1688 | 1758 | Magnificat, FWV H:G1 |
František Tůma | 1704 | 1774 | Magnificat in C major [15] |
Baldassare Galuppi | 1706 | 1785 | Four Magnificats |
Bernard Aymable Dupuy | 1707 | 1789 | Grand Magnificats No. 22, No. 23, No. 24 |
Michel Corrette | 1707 | 1795 | Organ Magnificats: four in Premier Livre d’Orgue, Op. 16 (1737), four in Deuxième Livre d’Orgue, Op. 26 (1750) |
Franz Xaver Richter | 1709 | 1789 | Magnificat in C major for soloists, choir and orchestra |
Johann Ludwig Krebs | 1713 | 1780 | (or J. S. Bach?) Chorale prelude "Meine Seele erhebet den Herren", Fuga sopra il Magnificat, BWV 733 ⓘ |
Gottfried August Homilius | 1714 | 1785 | Four Magnificats |
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach | 1714 | 1788 | Magnificat in D major (Wq 215 – H. 772, 1749) |
Johann Ernst Bach II | 1722 | 1777 | Meine Seele erhebt den Herrn cantatas, e.g. 1764 |
Claude Balbastre | 1724 | 1799 | Magnificat du 1er ton (organ) |
Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier | 1734 | 1794 | Organ Magnificats: 3 Magnificats, Op. 7 (c. 1777); In Journal d’orgue: No. 3 (1784), No. 9 (1784), No. 11 (1785) |
Johann Christian Bach | 1735 | 1782 | Magnificat a 8 in C major (W E20 – unfinished), Magnificat a 8 in C major (W E21), Magnificat a 4 in C major (W E22) |
Anselm Viola i Valentí | 1738 | 1798 | Magnificat for Six Voices, Magnificat for Seven Voices |
Guillaume Lasceux | 1740 | 1831 | Organ Magnificats (tonus I-VIII) in Annuaire de l’Organiste (1819) |
Nikolaus Betscher | 1745 | 1811 | Magnificat in D major |
Antonio Salieri | 1750 | 1825 | Magnificat in C major (1815); Magnificat in F major (1815) |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | 1756 | 1791 | Magnificat, K. 193/186g (1774); included in vespers: Vesperae solennes de Dominica, K. 321 (1779) and Vesperae solennes de confessore, K. 339 (1780) |
Franz Schubert | 1797 | 1828 | Magnificat, D. 486 (1816) |
Healey Willan | 1800 | 1968 | Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in B-flat major (1906), Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in E-flat major (1912) |
Felix Mendelssohn | 1809 | 1847 | Magnificat in D major (1822); Mein Herz erhebet, No. 3 of Three Motets, Op. 69 (1847) |
Franz Liszt | 1811 | 1886 | Dante Symphony: Magnificat (S.109/2b) and Magnificat (pf, S.182a) |
Jacques-Louis Battmann | 1818 | 1886 | Magnificats, e.g. for organ in Le service de chapelles, Op. 274 (Paris, 1868) |
Charles Gounod | 1818 | 1893 | My soul doth magnify the Lord (Magnificat in D major) for SATB choir and organ in An evening service (1872); Magnificat for soprano solo, choir and organ (1874) |
César Franck | 1822 | 1890 | Magnificats in Pièces posthumes for organ/harmonium |
Anton Bruckner | 1824 | 1896 | Magnificat WAB 24 (1852) |
Peter Benoit | 1834 | 1901 | Magnificat for three voices and organ |
Alexandre Guilmant | 1837 | 1911 | Six versets sur le Magnificat en sol majeur, No. 2 in L’Organiste pratique , Livre 2, Op. 41 (1874) |
Josef Rheinberger | 1839 | 1901 | Organ Sonata No. 4, Op. 98 cites the tonus peregrinus |
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | 1840 | 1893 | «Величитъ душа моя Господа» (Velichit dusha moya Gospoda – "My soul doth magnify the Lord"), Canticle of the Theotokos, No. 13 in All-Night Vigil (1882) |
John Stainer | 1840 | 1901 | Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in B flat, Service No 3, Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in E flat, Magnificat in F |
Hubert Parry | 1848 | 1898 | Magnificat, for Soprano Solo, Chorus and Orchestra, composed for the Hereford Musical Festival, 1897 |
Charles Villiers Stanford | 1852 | 1924 | Magnificat and Nunc dimittis settings: in B-flat major, Op. 10, in A major, Op. 12, in F major, Op. 36, in G major, Op. 81, in C major, Op. 115,in F major "Queens' Service" (1872),in E-flat major (1873),on the 2nd and 3rd Gregorian Modes (1907); Magnificat for Eight-part Chorus, Op. 164 (1918) |
Charles Wood | 1866 | 1926 | Evening Services and/or Magnificat and Nunc dimittis compositions |
T. Tertius Noble | 1867 | 1953 | Evening Services in B minor and A minor (SATB and organ) |
Louis Raffy | 1868 | 1932 (?) | Magnificat (Six versets en F major), Op.39 in La Lyre Sacrée (Organ/Harmonium, c. 1924) |
Charles Tournemire | 1870 | 1939 | Postludes libres pour des Antiennes de Magnificat, Op. 68 (1935, for organ) |
Ralph Vaughan Williams | 1872 | 1958 | Magnificat (1932) |
Sergei Rachmaninoff | 1873 | 1943 | Величитъ душа моя Господа (My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord), No. 11 in All-Night Vigil (1915) |
John Ireland | 1879 | 1962 | Evening Services and/or Magnificat and Nunc dimittis compositions, e.g. in C major, in F major |
Arnold Bax | 1883 | 1953 | Magnificats: song with piano (1906), SATB choir (1948)[ citation needed ] |
George Dyson | 1883 | 1964 | Evening Services in D, F (SATB and organ) and C minor (unison voices and organ) |
Herbert Howells | 1892 | 1983 | Evening Services including: Evening Service in G (1920), Collegium Regale (1945), Gloucester Service (1947), St Paul's Service (1951) |
Herbert Sumsion | 1899 | 1995 | A major, for SATB choir and organ, D major, for trebles or SATB choir and organ, G major, for SATB choir and organ, G Major, for ATB choir and organ, G Major, for treble choir and organ |
Krzysztof Penderecki | 1930 | 2020 | Magnificat (Penderecki) (1974) |
Sven-David Sandström | 1942 | Magnificat (2005) [16] [17] | |
John Rutter | 1945 | Magnificat (1990) [18] | |
Peter Klatzow | 1945 | Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis for SATB Choir with Organ [19] | |
Marty Haugen | 1950 | Annunciation/Magnificat for Holden Evening Prayer (1985–86) [20] | |
Peter Bannister | 1966 | Ökumenisches Magnificat / Ecumenical Magnificat (2016) [21] | |
Peter Reulein | 1966 | Laudato si - Ein franziskanisches Magnificat (2016) [22] | |
Philip Stopford | 1977 | Truro Evening Canticles, [23] Belfast Evening Canticles, [24] Short Service (2007), [25] St Polycarp Service (2013 [25] |
Vespers is a liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Lutheran liturgies. The word for this prayer time comes from the Latin vesper, meaning "evening".
The Magnificat is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos. It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical services of the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, Lutheran Churches and the Anglican Communion. Its name comes from the incipit of the Latin version of the text.
Vespro della Beata Vergine, SV 206, is a musical setting by Claudio Monteverdi of the evening vespers on Marian feasts, scored for soloists, choirs, and orchestra. It is an ambitious work in scope and in its variety of style and scoring, and has a duration of around 90 minutes. Published in Venice as Sanctissimae Virgini Missa senis vocibus ac Vesperae pluribus decantandae, cum nonnullis sacris concentibus, ad Sacella sive Principum Cubicula accommodata, it is sometimes called Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610.
In the context of Christian liturgy, a canticle is a psalm-like song with biblical lyrics taken from elsewhere than the Book of Psalms, but included in psalters and books such as the breviary. Of special importance to the Divine Office are three New Testament Canticles that are the climaxes of the Offices of Lauds, Vespers and Compline; these are respectively Benedictus, Magnificat and Nunc dimittis. There are also a number of Canticles taken from the Old Testament.
John Sheppard was an English composer of the Renaissance.
Anglican church music is music that is written for Christian worship in Anglican religious services, forming part of the liturgy. It mostly consists of pieces written to be sung by a church choir, which may sing a cappella or accompanied by an organ.
In chant, a reciting tone can refer to either a repeated musical pitch or to the entire melodic formula for which that pitch is a structural note. In Gregorian chant, the first is also called tenor, dominant or tuba, while the second includes psalm tones as well as simpler formulae for other readings and for prayers.
Orthros or útrenya, in the Byzantine Rite of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches, is the last of the four night offices, the other three being vespers, compline, and midnight office. Traditionally, in monasteries it is held daily so as to end immediately following sunrise, in contrast to parishes where it is held only on Sundays and feast days. It is often called matins after the office it most nearly corresponds to in Western Christian churches.
In 1724 Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Meine Seel erhebt den Herren, BWV 10, as part of his second cantata cycle. Taken from Martin Luther's German translation of the Magnificat canticle, the title translates as "My soul magnifies the Lord". Also known as Bach's German Magnificat, the work follows his chorale cantata format.
Ambrosian chant is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Ambrosian rite of the Roman Catholic Church, related to but distinct from Gregorian chant. It is primarily associated with the Archdiocese of Milan, and named after St. Ambrose much as Gregorian chant is named after Gregory the Great. It is the only surviving plainchant tradition besides the Gregorian to maintain the official sanction of the Roman Catholic Church.
Johann Sebastian Bach's Magnificat, BWV 243, is a musical setting of the biblical canticle Magnificat. It is scored for five vocal parts, and a Baroque orchestra including trumpets and timpani. It is the first major liturgical composition on a Latin text by Bach.
The tonus peregrinus, also known as the wandering tone, or the ninth tone, is a psalm tone used in Gregorian chant.
Ginés de Boluda was a Spanish church musician and composer.
Vesperae solennes de confessore, K. 339, is a sacred choral composition, written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1780. It is scored for SATB choir and soloists, violin I, violin II, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones colla parte, 2 timpani, and basso continuo.
Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. It is loosely based on the canonical hours of vespers and compline. Old English speakers translated the Latin word vesperas as æfensang, which became 'evensong' in modern English. Typically used in reference to the Anglican daily office's evening liturgy, it can also refer to the pre-Reformation form of vespers or services of evening prayer from other denominations, particularly within the Anglican Use of the Catholic Church.
The Magnificat in E-flat major, BWV 243a, also BWV 243.1, by Johann Sebastian Bach is a musical setting of the Latin text of the Magnificat, Mary's canticle from the Gospel of Luke. It was composed in 1723 and is in twelve movements, scored for five vocal parts and a Baroque orchestra of trumpets, timpani, oboes, strings and basso continuo including bassoon. Bach revised the work some ten years later, transposing it from E-flat major to D major, and creating the version mostly performed today, BWV 243.
Meine Seele erhebt den Herren is Martin Luther's translation of the Magnificat canticle. It is traditionally sung to a German variant of the tonus peregrinus, a rather exceptional psalm tone in Gregorian chant. The tonus peregrinus is associated with the ninth mode or Aeolian mode. For the traditional setting of Luther's German Magnificat that is the minor mode for which the last note of the melodic formula is the tonic, a fifth below its opening note.
The Daily Office in Anglican churches focuses the traditional canonical hours on daily services of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer, usually following the Book of Common Prayer. As in other Christian traditions, either clergy or laity can lead the daily office. Most Anglican clergy are required to pray Morning and Evening Prayer daily.
Pietro Torri's Magnificat in C major for double choir and orchestra likely dates from the 1690s. The work is scored for two SATB choirs, two trumpets, bassoon, strings and basso continuo. Its music opens with an instrumental introduction (sinfonia). Most of the composition's movements are either choral movements, in which all singers and instruments participate, or duets for two singers and a more limited instrumental accompaniment.