Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...
's Magnificat,
BWV
The (BWV; ; ) is a catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV2 ...
243, is a musical setting of the biblical canticle
Magnificat
The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) 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 servic ...
. It is scored for five vocal parts (two sopranos, alto, tenor and bass), and a
Baroque orchestra including trumpets and timpani. It is the first major
liturgical composition on a Latin text by Bach.
In 1723, after taking up his post as
Thomaskantor
(Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of cantor a ...
in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
, Bach set the text of the Magnificat in a twelve
movement composition in the
key of
E-flat major. For a performance at
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
he inserted four hymns (''
laudes'') related to that feast. This version, including the Christmas interpolations, was given the number
243.1 (previously 243a) in the
catalogue of Bach's works.
Likely for the feast of
Visitation of 1733, or another feast in or around that year, Bach produced a new version of his Latin Magnificat, without the Christmas hymns: instrumentation of some movements was altered or expanded, and the key changed from E-flat major to
D major
D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor.
The D major scale is:
:
Cha ...
, for performance reasons of the trumpet parts. This version of Bach's Magnificat is known as BWV 243.2 (previously BWV 243).
After publication of both versions in the 19th century, the second became the standard for performance. It is one of Bach's most popular vocal works.
History
In Leipzig, the Magnificat was regularly part of Sunday services, sung in German on ordinary Sundays but more elaborately and in Latin on the high holidays (Christmas,
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
and
Pentecost) and on the three Marian feasts
Annunciation, Visitation and
Purification.
Bach's tenure as Thomaskantor in Leipzig
Apart from an early setting of the
Kyrie
Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek , vocative case of (''Kyrios''), is a common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called the Kyrie eleison ( ; ).
In the Bible
The prayer, "Kyrie, eleison," "Lord, have mercy" derives f ...
, on a mixed Greek and German text (
BWV 233a
The (BWV; ; ) is a catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV2a ...
), all of
Bach's known liturgical compositions in Latin were composed during his tenure as Thomaskantor in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
, from 1723 until his death in 1750. Compared to Lutheran practice elsewhere, an uncharacteristic amount of Latin was used in church services in Leipzig. An early account of Bach showing interest in liturgical practices in Leipzig dates from 1714, when he noted down the order of the service on the first Sunday in Advent during a visit to the town. At the time
Johann Kuhnau
Johann Kuhnau (; 6 April 16605 June 1722) was a German polymath, known primarily as a composer today. He was also active as a novelist, translator, lawyer, and music theorist, and was able to combine these activities with his duties in his offici ...
was the
Cantor
A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds.
In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...
in Leipzig. When Kuhnau died in 1722, one of the candidates applying for the post of Thomaskantor was
Christoph Graupner, a former pupil of Kuhnau, who reused a
Magnificat he had composed for Christmas 1722 as an audition piece in January 1723, three weeks before Bach presented his audition cantatas
''Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe'', BWV 22 and .
[Mus.ms 430/29 (Autograph of Graupner's 1722 Magnificat)](_blank)
at the website of the Technische Universität Darmstadt
The Technische Universität Darmstadt (official English name Technical University of Darmstadt, sometimes also referred to as Darmstadt University of Technology), commonly known as TU Darmstadt, is a research university in the city of Darmstadt ...
, p. 1, 8 Bach assumed the position of on 30 May 1723, the first Sunday after
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...
, performing an ambitious cantata in 14 movements, , followed by a comparable cantata, the next Sunday.
Traditional setting of the German Magnificat
![Magnificat im 9](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Magnificat_im_9._Psalmton_deutsch_%28Luther%29.jpg)
The traditional setting of
Luther
Luther may refer to:
People
* Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation
* Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement
* Luther (give ...
's German translation of the Magnificat ("
Meine Seele erhebt den Herren") is a German variant of the , a rather exceptional
psalm tone
In chant, a reciting tone (also called a recitation 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 ...
in
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, plainchant, a form of monophony, monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek (language), Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed ma ...
. The tonus peregrinus (or ninth tone) 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
Melody type or type-melody is a set of melodic formulas, figures, and patterns.
Term and typical meanings
"Melody type" is a fundamental notion for understanding a nature of Western and non-Western musical modes, according to Harold Powers' ...
is the
tonic, a
fifth below its opening note.
The tonus peregrinus variant that is associated with Luther's German Magnificat appears in compositions by, among others,
Johann Hermann Schein
Johann Hermann Schein (20 January 1586 – 19 November 1630) was a German composer of the early Baroque era. He was Thomaskantor in Leipzig from 1615 to 1630. He was one of the first to import the early Italian stylistic innovations into Germa ...
,
Heinrich Schütz
Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He ...
,
Johann Pachelbel and
Dietrich Buxtehude. Bach uses the melodic formula as an instrumental in movement
10 (Suscepit Israel) of his Latin Magnificat. He uses it again in his "German Magnificat", i.e. the cantata composed for Visitation of 1724, in the
chorale harmonisations BWV 323 and 324, and in the fourth
Schübler Chorale BWV 648. Also in BWV 733, ''Fuga sopra il Magnificat'', the melodic formula is used as a theme: this
chorale prelude
In music, a chorale prelude or chorale setting is a short liturgical composition for organ using a chorale tune as its basis. It was a predominant style of the German Baroque era and reached its culmination in the works of J.S. Bach, who wrote 46 ...
may however be the work of Bach pupil
Johann Ludwig Krebs
Johann Ludwig Krebs (baptized 12 October 1713 – 1 January 1780) was a German Baroque musician and composer for the pipe organ, harpsichord, other instruments and orchestras. His output also included chamber music, choral works and concertos ...
.
Extended settings of the Magnificat
Being a quintessential part of
vespers
Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic (both Latin and Eastern), Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies. The word for this fixed prayer time comes from the Latin , meanin ...
,
evensong
Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which became ...
or
matins
Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning.
The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which was originally celebrated b ...
, the Magnificat was, already for over a century before Bach's composition, the
liturgical
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
text that was most
often set to music apart from the
Mass ordinary
The ordinary, in Roman Catholic and other Western Christian liturgies, refers to the part of the Mass or of the canonical hours that is reasonably constant without regard to the date on which the service is performed. It is contrasted to the '' ...
. In Protestantism there was no Latin text more often set to music than the Magnificat. Also settings of the German text of the Magnificat were current from the early 17th century, without one form suppressing the other.
Extended settings of the Magnificat, also indicated as settings in a concertato sectional construction, that is in several movements with chorus, orchestra and vocal soloists, and a non-linear treatment of the text (parts of the text repeated multiple times by the singers), go back to the old Italian school of music. Such an example can be found in
Claudio Monteverdi's Magnificat a 7 voci, one of two alternative Magnificat settings included in his ''
Vespro della Beata Vergine
''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' (''Vespers for the Blessed Virgin''), 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 i ...
''. In a Lutheran tradition there is for example Schütz'
Latin Magnificat, SWV 468. Magnificat composers like Johann Levini,
Antonio Lotti
Antonio Lotti (5 January 1667 – 5 January 1740) was an Italian composer of the Baroque era.
Biography
Lotti was born in Venice, although his father Matteo was '' Kapellmeister'' at Hanover at the time. Oral tradition says that in 1682, Lotti ...
and
Francesco Durante
Francesco Durante (31 March 1684 – 30 September 1755) was a Neapolitan composer.
Biography
He was born at Frattamaggiore, in the Kingdom of Naples, and at an early age he entered the '' Conservatorio dei poveri di Gesù Cristo'', in Naples, ...
are cited as possible inspirations for Bach. Around Bach's time there are also examples
by Heinichen and
by Vivaldi.
In many of these settings a single verse of the Magnificat can be sung by one or more soloists alternating with choral singing, as Bach does in his treatment of the third Magnificat verse: the soprano sings the first words of the verse, while the chorus concludes it. This particular split of the third verse, leaving only the last two words (omnes generationes) to the chorus, had been practised before by Ruggiero Fedeli, and in a Magnificat in G minor from 1720 which Bach probably knew (that Magnificat in G minor used to be attributed to
Tomaso Albinoni
Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni (8 June 1671 – 17 January 1751) was an Italian composer of the Baroque era. His output includes operas, concertos, sonatas for one to six instruments, sinfonias, and solo cantatas. While famous in his day as an opera comp ...
). Also Graupner's 1722 Magnificat had this split.
Another characteristic of Bach's Magnificat is that it is set for a five-part chorus. Extending a standard
SATB
SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass.
Choral music
Four-part harm ...
choir with more voice parts was however no novelty for Magnificat compositions: for example Johann Pachelbel, the teacher of Johann Sebastian's
eldest brother, had composed half a dozen Magnificats for SSATB choir, and one for soli, SSATB double choir and orchestra. Kuhnau's
Magnificat setting also used a SSATB choir. Bach had already composed for a SSATB choir in
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
(
''Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret'', BWV 31, an Easter cantata from 1715). He did the same in his funeral motet ''
Jesu, meine Freude
"" (; Jesus, my joy) is a hymn in German, written by Johann Franck in 1650, with a melody, Zahn No. 8032, by Johann Crüger. The song first appeared in Crüger's hymnal in 1653. The text addresses Jesus as joy and support, versus enemies ...
''. Around the time when the D major version of the Magnificat originated, he composed for the same extended chorus in
his Mass for the Dresden court. Other extended choral settings by Bach include his
Sanctus for six vocal parts (SSSATB) for Christmas 1724, and compositions for double choir like the ''
St Matthew Passion'' (1727) and the secular cantata
''Preise dein Glücke, gesegnetes Sachsen'', BWV 215 (1734). Such compositions with an extended choir are however outside Bach's usual routine for liturgical music.
Bach was not the first to include mixed German/Latin Christmas interpolations in a Magnificat sung in Latin:
Hieronymus Praetorius
Hieronymus Praetorius (10 August 1560 – 27 January 1629) was a Northern German composer and organist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque whose polychoral motets in 8 to 20 voices are intricate and vividly expressive. Some of his organ ...
published a
Magnificat with such interpolations in 1622.
Samuel Scheidt
Samuel Scheidt (baptised 3 November 1587 – 24 March 1654) was a German composer, organist and teacher of the early Baroque era.
Life and career
Scheidt was born in Halle, and after early studies there, he went to Amsterdam to study with Sw ...
's ''Geistliche Konzerte III'' (1635) contained three Magnificats with interpolations, the first of these (SSWV 299 for SSATTB and basso continuo) with the first stanza of "
Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her" as first interpolation.
The Visitation version(s)
In the
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...
the words of the Magnificat are spoken by
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
when she visits her cousin
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
, both being pregnant, Mary with
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
and Elizabeth with
John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
. In
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, the feast commemorating that visit is called
Visitation. It is a chosen opportunity to give more than ordinary attention to the Magnificat canticle in liturgy, while the feast celebrates the event tied to its origin.
In Bach's time the feast day of Visitation fell on
2 July. The D major version of Bach's Magnificat (BWV 243.2) may have been performed on , as part of the church service in the
St. Thomas Church (Thomaskirche) in Leipzig. That year there had been a period of mourning after the death of the sovereign,
Augustus the Strong
Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as K ...
. During that mourning period, which ran from
Sexagesima Sunday
Sexagesima , or, in full, Sexagesima Sunday, is the name for the second Sunday before Ash Wednesday in the pre-1970 Roman Rite liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church, and also in that of some Protestant denominations, particularly those with L ...
(15 February) to the
fourth Sunday after Trinity (28 June), no concerted music was allowed in the churches. During that period Bach had been composing a
Kyrie-Gloria mass in B minor which he dedicated to the successor,
Frederick Augustus II, in a letter signed .
The first occasion after the mourning period that re-allowed concerted church music was the feast of Visitation, Thursday . It is possible that Bach produced his new version of the Magnificat for this occasion, although Christmas of the same year as first performance date for the new version is possible too: it can not be determined with certainty on which day around 1732–1735 the D major version of the Magnificat was first performed, and until when Bach amended the score to its final state. Around 1733 Bach filed two cantatas by
Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel
Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel (13 January 1690 in – 27 November 1749 in Gotha) was a prolific German composer of the Baroque era. Stölzel was an accomplished German stylist who wrote a good many of the poetic texts for his vocal works.
Biogr ...
, for the fifth and the sixth Sunday after Trinity (5 and 12 July in 1733): Bach may have relied on church music by other composers for the services in Leipzig in July 1733, while composing and copying out the performance parts of the extensive first part of the
Mass in B minor
The Mass in B minor (), BWV 232, is an extended setting of the Mass ordinary by Johann Sebastian Bach. The composition was completed in 1749, the year before the composer's death, and was to a large extent based on earlier work, such as a Sanctu ...
.
In 2003 Bach scholar
Andreas Glöckner argued that the very first version of Bach's Magnificat, that is the E major version ''before'' the four Christmas interpolations were added to the autograph, was first performed on 2 July 1723.
That would have been exactly ten years before the transposed version, and composed for the same
Marian feast
Marian feast days in the liturgical year are celebrated in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The number of Marian feasts celebrated, their names (and at times dates) can vary among Christian denominations.
History and development
Early histor ...
. Bach had taken up his post as in Leipzig on 30 May, the first Sunday after Trinity in 1723. Visitation was the first feast day of his tenure, which called for exceptionally festive music.
The Christmas interpolations
Before Glöckner's 2003 article on the origin of the Magnificat, and for some authors still after that, it was generally assumed that Bach had composed his Magnificat in the quiet time of
Advent 1723 for a first performance at the Christmas vespers. For that performance Bach composed four ''laudes'', songs of praise partly in German, partly in Latin to be inserted at certain points in the E-flat major version of the Magnificat. The E-flat major version of the Magnificat including these interpolations is known as BWV 243.1 (previously BWV 243a).
The text of these ''laudes'' had been used in Leipzig in a Christmas cantata by Bach's predecessor
Kuhnau
Johann Kuhnau (; 6 April 16605 June 1722) was a German polymath, known primarily as a composer today. He was also active as a novelist, translator, lawyer, and music theorist, and was able to combine these activities with his duties in his offici ...
. Possibly those settings in C major of the same four texts as the ''laudes'' Bach had included in his Christmas Magnificat were not a self-contained cantata, but ''laudes'' Kuhnau had composed for insertion in his C major Magnificat when it was to be performed at Christmas. These laudes illustrate what the
Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
s describe as the circumstances around
Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
's birth, and were embedded in an old tradition named (rocking of the cradle).
As these ''laudes'' were to be performed with a very limited accompaniment of instruments, they were supposedly performed from the small loft in the high choir of the Thomaskirche, opposite to the large organ loft where the other movements of the Magnificat were performed.
The autograph of the E-flat major version of the Magnificat (BWV 243.1) suggests that Bach intended to perform the first version of his Magnificat also without the ''laudes'', depending on circumstances, for example on other feasts than Christmas.
Other Magnificats by Bach?
Bach's ''Nekrolog'', the 1754
obituary written by
Johann Friedrich Agricola
Johann Friedrich Agricola (4 January 1720 – 2 December 1774) was a German composer, organist, singer, pedagogue, and writer on music. He sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Flavio Anicio Olibrio.
Biography
Agricola was born in Dobitschen, Thu ...
and the composer's son
Carl Philipp Emanuel, mentions that the composer wrote several Magnificats. Apart from the extant copies of the Latin Magnificat BWV 243, of the
''German Magnificat'' BWV 10 and of the chorale harmonisation BWV 324, a Magnificat for soprano solo was considered lost in the 19th century.
The score of that so-called "little" Magnificat () was rediscovered in the 20th century, and listed as however, its authenticity was doubted. In 1982
Melchior Hoffmann was identified as the composer of this German Magnificat ''Meine Seel erhebt den Herren''. A similar cantata on a German paraphrase of the Magnificat,
''Meine Seele rühmt und preist'', BWV 189 for tenor solo and composed for Visitation, has also been attributed to Hoffmann.
Another German libretto paraphrasing the Magnificat, published by
Picander
Christian Friedrich Henrici (January 14, 1700 – May 10, 1764), writing under the pen name Picander, was a German poet and librettist for many of the cantatas which Johann Sebastian Bach composed in Leipzig.
Henrici was born in Stolpen. He stud ...
in
his 1728–29 cantata cycle for performance on 2 July 1728, may have been set by Bach.
Picander
Christian Friedrich Henrici (January 14, 1700 – May 10, 1764), writing under the pen name Picander, was a German poet and librettist for many of the cantatas which Johann Sebastian Bach composed in Leipzig.
Henrici was born in Stolpen. He stud ...
(=Christian Friedrich Henrici)
''Ernst-Schertzhaffte und Satyrische Gedichte'', Volume III.
Leipzig: Joh. Theod. Boetii Tochter (1732; 2nd printing 1737)
pp. 153–155
/ref>Alfred Dürr
Alfred Dürr (3 March 1918 – 7 April 2011) was a German musicologist. He was a principal editor of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, the second edition of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Professional career
Dürr studied musicology and Clas ...
, Yoshitake Kobayashi (eds.), Kirsten Beißwenger. ''Bach Werke Verzeichnis
The (BWV; ; ) is a catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV2a ...
: Kleine Ausgabe, nach der von Wolfgang Schmieder vorgelegten 2. Ausgabe''. Preface in English and German. Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1998. –
p. 458
/ref> Similarly, a ''Meine Seele erhebet den Herrn'' cantata by an unknown librettist for Visitation 1725. Further, Bach copied Latin Magnificats by other composers:
* in the early 1740s Bach copied Antonio Caldara
Antonio Caldara (ca 1670 – 28 December 1736) was an Italian Baroque composer.
Life
Caldara was born in Venice (exact date unknown), the son of a violinist. He became a chorister at St Mark's in Venice, where he learned several instruments, ...
's Magnificat in C major, arranging its Suscepit Israel movement ( BWV 1082).[Kirsten Beißwenger (ed.]
''Werke zweifelhafter Echtheit, Bearbeitungen fremder Kompositionen''
(Volume 9 of Series II: Masses, Passions, Oratorios from the New Bach Edition
The New Bach Edition (NBE) (german: Neue Bach-Ausgabe; NBA), is the second complete edition of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, published by Bärenreiter. The name is short for Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): New Edition of the Complete W ...
). Bärenreiter, 2000.
* is a Magnificat in C major for double SATB choir and orchestra, copied by Bach around 1742. The manuscript score indicates no composer, but in 2012 it was discovered that it is Bach's arrangement (by adding parts for timpani and for a third trumpet) of a late 17th-century composition by Pietro Torri
Pietro Torri (c. 1665 or earlier, in Peschiera del Garda_Pietro_Torri,_Neue_Hofkapelle_München,_Christoph_Hammer_(2)_–_Le_Triomphe_de_la_Paixat_Christoph_Hammer">_Pietro_Torri,_Neue_Hofkapelle_München,_Christoph_Hammer_(2)_–_Le_Triomphe_de_l ...
. An earlier attribution of the work had been to Antonio Lotti.
Structure and movements
Bach's Magnificat consists of eleven movements for the text of Luke 1:46–55, concluded by a twelfth doxology
A doxology (Ancient Greek: ''doxologia'', from , '' doxa'' 'glory' and -, -''logia'' 'saying') is a short hymn of praises to God in various forms of Christian worship, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns. The tradition derive ...
movement. Each verse of the canticle is assigned to one movement, except verse 48 (the third verse of the Magnificat) which begins with a soprano solo in the third movement and is concluded by the chorus in the fourth movement. The traditional division of the Magnificat, as used by composers since the late Middle Ages, was in 12 verses: it differs from Bach's 12 movements in that Luke's verse 48 is one verse in the traditional division, while the doxology is divided into two verses.
There is however no numbering of movements in Bach's autographs, nor is there a caesura
300px, An example of a caesura in modern western music notation
A caesura (, . caesuras or caesurae; Latin for " cutting"), also written cæsura and cesura, is a metrical pause or break in a verse where one phrase ends and another phrase begin ...
between the third and the fourth movement: the 25th measure of the Quia respexit (where the soprano soloist sings their last note) is the first measure of the Omnes generationes movement. The four Christmas interpolations are placed after the second, the fifth, the seventh and the ninth movement on the Magnificat text. These four ''laudes'' movements are usually indicated by the letters A to D, with these text sources:
* A: Hymn by Martin Luther
* B: Verse attributed to Sethus Calvisius
Sethus Calvisius or Setho Calvisio, originally Seth Kalwitz (21 February 1556 – 24 November 1615), was a German music theorist, composer, chronologer, astronomer, and teacher of the late Renaissance.
Biography
He was born into a peasant family ...
* C:
* D: Fragment of a Christmas hymn
Performance time of the Magnificat lies typically between 25 and 30 minutes, with an additional five minutes for the Christmas interpolations. The duration of the version without Christmas hymns is comparable with that of an average Bach cantata
The cantatas composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, known as Bach cantatas (German: ), are a body of work consisting of over 200 surviving independent works, and at least several dozen that are considered lost. As far as known, Bach's earliest cant ...
. However, there are many differences: the Magnificat contains about twice as many movements as an average cantata, keeping it short by avoiding da capo
Da capo (, also , ) is an Italian musical term that means "from the beginning" (literally, "from the head"). It is often abbreviated as D.C. The term is a directive to repeat the previous part of music, often used to save space, and thus is a ...
s in the arias, and altogether no recitatives. Also the text is in Latin (not the usual language for a Bach cantata), the architecture of the movements is fairly complex, as opposed to the fairly simple structure of an average cantata, and the choral writing is in five parts, "outside the normal routine of Bach's sacred vocal works".
Scoring and key signature
The movements 1 (Magnificat), 7 (Fecit potentiam) and 12 (Gloria patri) are the cornerstones of the composition: they are in the tonic key (E major for BWV 243.1, D major for BWV 243.2), and are the only movements that feature a five-part chorus as well as a tutti
''Tutti'' is an Italian word literally meaning ''all'' or ''together'' and is used as a musical term, for the whole orchestra as opposed to the soloist. It is applied similarly to choral music, where the whole section or choir is called to sing. ...
orchestra. The chorus also sings in movement 4 (Omnes generationes), accompanied by an orchestra without trumpets and timpani, and in movement 11 (Sicut locutus est), there only accompanied by the continuo. The first three choral movements are, in the version without the Christmas hymns, followed by two movements for a vocal soloist, the second one often with richer scoring. In the movements for vocal soloists the instrumentation is as usual in Bach's cantata's: the soloists are accompanied by an obbligato
In Western classical music, ''obbligato'' (, also spelled ''obligato'') usually describes a musical line that is in some way indispensable in performance. Its opposite is the marking ''ad libitum''. It can also be used, more specifically, to indic ...
instrument, only strings and/or continuo. Movement A (Vom Himmel hoch) is the only a cappella movement.
As natural trumpet
A natural trumpet is a valveless brass instrument that is able to play the notes of the harmonic series.
History
The natural trumpet was used as a military instrument to facilitate communication (e.g. break camp, retreat, etc.).
Even before th ...
s were usually tuned in D in Saxony, this is given as a reason why Bach transposed the initial E-flat major version to D major.
Voices
Bach set the Magnificat for SSATB five-part choir. Five vocal soloists are required: two sopranos (sI, sII), alto (a), tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
(t) and bass (b). In movement 10 (Suscepit Israel) both sopranos sing together with the alto.
Orchestra
The Baroque orchestra for BWV 243.1 consists of "due violini, due oboe, tre trombi, tamburi, basson, viola e basso continuo", i.e. two violin
The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
s (Vl), two oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
...
s (Ob), three trumpets (Tr, tonic), timpani (Ti, tonic and dominant (music), dominant), bassoon, viola (Va) and basso continuo (Bc). Two Recorder (musical instrument), recorders (flauto dolce, Fl) are required for aria No. 9 Esurientes, but are not part of the tutti.
For the 1733 version, Bach used a somewhat more extended orchestra: the recorders are replaced by traversos (Fl) and they get separate parts in all four choral movements.[Bach 1733 (autograph of D major version)] In movements three and four the oboes are replaced by oboe d'amore, oboes d'amore (Oa). In the #10. Suscepit Israel, 10th movement (Suscepit Israel) the oboes replace the trumpet for the obbligato instrumental part.
The continuo part is played by organ (music), organ, bassoon, cello and violone in most movements. In the 1723 version movement 10 (Suscepit Israel) has a bassett (Ba) part played exclusively by violins and viola in unisono. In the 1733 version this continuo line is given to a continuo that includes cello, but not bassoon and violone.
Symmetrical structure
Bach's Magnificat is built symmetrically around the #7. Fecit potentiam, 7th movement (''Fecit potentiam''): Between the first and the 7th movement there are four verses of the Magnificat, between the 7th and the last there are also four. First, seventh and last movement are in the tonic key, with full orchestra and choir. The second and 11th movement are in the same major key, the third and the 10th movement are in the relative minor key. The movement preceding, and the one following, the central 7th movement are also in a minor key. The fifth and the ninth are in a major key, different from the tonic. The Christmas additions are separated by two Magnificat verses, the first addition being after the second verse. The Christmas hymns are always in the same key as the preceding movement. By verse, this is what the harmonic structure looks like:
* Verse 1 and 2 (movements 1 and 2, followed by movement A in the Christmas version): tonic key (major)
** Verse 3: starts in relative minor key (movement 3), moving to another minor key (movement 4)
*** Verse 4 (movement 5, followed by movement B in the Christmas version): major key different from tonic
**** Verse 5 (movement 6): minor key
***** Verse 6 (movement 7, followed by movement C in the Christmas version): tonic key
**** Verse 7 (movement 8): minor key
*** Verse 8 (movement 9, followed by movement D in the Christmas version): major key different from tonic
** Verse 9 (movement 10): relative minor key
* Verse 10 and doxology (movements 11 and 12): tonic key
Regarding voices and orchestration the four Magnificat verses between the first and the seventh movement, and those between the seventh and the last, have a less symmetrical build-up: here the idea is rather that after a tutti movement there are two or three arias building up to the next choral movement:
* movements two and three, both for solo soprano, build up to the Omnes generationes choral movement No. 4
* movements five (solo) and six (duet), build up to the 7th tutti movement
* movements eight and nine (both solo movements), followed by an aria for vocal trio, build up to the final two choral movements
The last aria in each of these sets of arias is first a solo, then a duet, then a terzet (trio). When inserting the Christmas hymns, building up to the seventh movement alternates arias with choral movements, while in the second half of the composition the choral movements at the outer ends are separated by a set of four arias: solo → solo → duet → trio. In such sixteen-movement performance there is however another symmetry: the third section (movement A), and the third counting down from the last (movement 10) both use a Lutheran chorale melody as cantus firmus: soprano voices in the first case ("Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her"), instrumental in the second (" Meine Seele erhebt den Herren"). The symmetry of the Christmas version can be pictured as follows:
* Two movements (1, 2) in tonic key → "cantus firmus" movement (A)
** Verse in minor key (mvt. 3, 4) → two movements in the same major key (5, B)
*** Verse in minor key (mvt. 6) → two movements in tonic key (7, C)
** Verse in minor key (mvt. 8) → two movements in the same major key (9, D)
* Two movements in tonic key (11, 12) ← "cantus firmus" movement (10)
This is also 5 times two verses of the Magnificat followed by a movement with a text that comes from elsewhere, the only bible quote of these other texts (movement C, also a doxology like the last movement) being coupled with the central 7th movement.
The structure of Bach's Magnificat has been compared with that of Kuhnau's, which he probably knew, and with that of Johann Philipp Krieger's scores:Magnificat (Krieger, Johann Philipp), Magnificat of 1685, which Kuhnau probably knew. Kuhnau's Magnificat, his largest extant vocal work, has a similar orchestration as the first version of Bach's Magnificat (differences: Kuhnau's has a second viola, Bach's has two recorders in one movement), and it has the same "expandability" with settings of the same ''laudes'' for a Christmas performance. Kuhnau's Magnificat has standard SATB soloists, but like Bach's, a SSATB choir. All three Magnificats set verses 1, 6, 10 and 12 of the Magnificat text for chorus. Kuhnau's has five choral movements, like Bach's, but his second is verse 4 (instead of 3b for Bach), and his last is only verse 12, where for Bach that final chorus sets both verse 11 and 12. In all three Magnificats the other verses are set for soloists, as a single voice or combined into duets and trios.
The twelve movements of the Magnificat canticle
1. Magnificat
("My spirit gives great praise to the Lord", ) is the text used for the opening chorus. The movement consists of 6 blocks of 15 measures, totalling 90 Bar (music), bars of music, exactly half of them with choral singing:
* Measure 1–30: the orchestra presents itself with what looks like a ritornello, but is in fact rather a concerto tutti. The movement has the form of an Italian aria, modelled after the concerto style Bach had developed in Köthen: in that style the material is presented in an instrumental tutti.
** Measure 1–15: the motive played by oboe I in the first measure sets the jubilant tone of the tutti. It is the first of two main motives.
** Measure 16–30: in measure 16, almost imperceptible in the whirling movement of other instruments, violin I presents a new motive: it is the second main motive. The last measures before the entrance of the choir that motive is repeated by multiple instruments.
::First motive (as sung by sopranos I in measure 31): \relative c' \addlyrics
::Second motive (as sung by the tenors in measure 35): \relative c'' \addlyrics
* Measure 31–75: accompanied by the continuo, the chorus enters as a concerto soloist, imitating the opening material.
** Measure 31–45: The sopranos enter first, with the first main motive, and from measure 32 alto and tenor imitate the same. The basses enter from measure 33 while the full orchestra plays a short intervention for two measures. In measures 35–36 the chorus sings the second main motive from the opening tutti. After that the orchestra dominates again, with the chorus following or giving contrasting melodies. From the end of measure 37 voices one after another start singing "anima mea", until in the last three measures of this block all singers take the text (Lord#Religion, the Lord) once, all of them with the last syllable of that word on the first beat of the 45th measure, after which the orchestra, apart from the continuo, is silent till the beginning of measure 47: the singers bridge the central barline between measures 45 and 46 with the first main motive sung by altos, sopranos I and sopranos II consecutively.
** Measure 46–60: after the sopranos recapitulate the start of the movement with their voices, and a brief intervention by the orchestra in measures 47–48, the second main motive is sung again, first by the highest voices in measure 49, followed by the lower voices in measure 50. In this block the chorus takes a leading role, limited groups of instruments accompanying with short ideas taken from the opening tutti, until in the last two measures all instruments join, ending with the second main motive played by trumpet I in measure 60. In this second of three blocks for the singers, the only text they sing is a repetition of the word "magnificat".
** Measure 61–75: in the first measure of this block the altos sing the first main motive while all instruments halt for at least a few beats. The singers keep the leading role, while groups of instruments play additional motives. Later the orchestral writing thickens, returning from the subdominant to the tonic. The text remains for most of this block, the conclusion "anima mea" (my soul) is heard by the alto for the first time, in measure 67, embedded in the other voices' . All parts sing "" once again, soprano II beginning with a long note continued by a melisma in measure 73, the others in 74.
* Measure 76–90: after 45 measures of choral singing follow fifteen measures of instrumental postlude, with material condensed from the opening tutti.
2. Et exultavit
("And my spirit has rejoiced [in God my Saviour]") is an aria sung by soprano II, accompanied by the strings. The aria continues the feelings of joy from the first movement, but in a less extrovert way. In the Christmas 1723 version, this movement is followed by the #A. Vom Himmel hoch, first interpolation, the hymn "Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her".
3. Quia respexit
(Because he has looked upon the humility) is an aria sung by soprano I with an obbligato oboe (oboe d'amore in the D major version). It is the only movement for which Bach marked the tempo at the beginning: Adagio (only D major version). Steinberg notes that voice and instrument first share the material in a "contemplative duet", but on (from henceforth shall call me blessed) the voice changes to a "simpler, more declamatory style". Philipp Spitta, Spitta notes: "Scarcely ever has the idea of virgin purity, simplicity, and humble happiness found more perfect expression than in this German picture of the Madonna, translated, as it were, into musical language."
4. Omnes generationes
The continuation of the verse and completion of the sentence, (all generations), is given to the chorus. The setting has been likened to a turba chorus as used by Passions (Bach), Bach in his Passions. Some commentators see an atmosphere close to aggression, others rather an evocation of multitude. The sound in the E-flat major version is somewhat harsher than in the D major version, for example the bass line in measure three, and in measure 24 where the first version has a dissonant dominant ninth which was changed to a less dissonant harmony in the later version.
5. Quia fecit
(Because he did great things for me) is an aria sung by the bass, accompanied only by the continuo. The motif, again beginning with repeated notes, is introduced by four measures of the continuo, then repeated by the voice.
6. Et misericordia
(And mercy), a duet for alto and tenor, begins with an undulating movement in 12/8 time, played by violins and violas. In the D major version these strings play con sordino, flutes doubling the violins.
7. Fecit potentiam
(He shows strength) shares key and scoring with the first movement. The tenor is the first voice to enter, followed by alto, SII, bass and SI, leading to two calls without melismas near the middle of the movement. appears in various voices, but then isolated, in a sequence from the highest voice to the lowest. The conclusion, , is marked Adagio and illustrates the text in long chords, with accents by the trumpets.
8. Deposuit
(He hath put down the mighty) is an aria for tenor, accompanied by continuo and unisono violins, presenting material in a 14 measure ritornello. The second thought of the verse, beginning with (and exalted the humble), is sung without introduction. After a shorter ritornello, the tenor sings the complete text again, the first part in a slightly modified version, but the exaltation considerably expanded after which the ritornello in full length is repeated at the end.
9. Esurientes
(The hungry) is sung by the alto, accompanied by two flutes. The ritornello of eight measures introduces a motiv moving up, on a continuo of steady quarter note, for four measures, later sung on (He hath filled the hungry with good things), while downward lines and a continuo moving in eighth notes later go with (and the rich he hath sent away). In Latin, the last word is (empty-handed).
10. Suscepit Israel
(He hath holpen his servant Israel) is scored for an unusual combination of the three highest voices and two oboes in unison (a single trumpet in the E-flat major version). The wind instrument(s) cite the as a , on a continuo line that most of the time only changes every measure, moving one step down or up. The voices imitate each other, in gentle movement. Almost the only leaps in the whole measure occur on the word , with a downward quart on each syllable.
11. Sicut locutus est
(As he spake [to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever]), the last line of the Magnificat has a theme in four distinct measures: the first repeated notes, the second flowing eighth notes, the third quarter notes in leaps, the fourth half notes leaping up a sixth. When the theme is developed the first time, four voices enter from bottom to top. In the second development, soprano I begins, followed by alto, tenor and bass. The movements ends with a more homophonic section in which the bass has the theme once more, while soprano I sings long suspended notes in a descending scale covering almost an octave.
12. Gloria patri
The work is concluded by the doxology, (Glory to the father), performed by the complete ensemble. The first part of the text ends in a long cadenza. After changing the time signature from common time to triple metre, the second part of the text, (as it was in the beginning), repeats material from the beginning of the work.
The hymns added in the Christmas 1723 version
The first time the Christmas hymns of the E-flat major version of Bach's Magnificat were printed was in the same volume as the D major version of the Magnificat, in the 1862 Bach Gesellschaft XI/1 publication, which presented the hymns in an annex. In that publication the hymns were however not transposed to fit in the D major setting of the Magnificat. More recently publishers offer such transposed (and completed) versions of the hymns, so that they can be performed as part of the D major version of the Magnificat, for instance Novello in 2000 (Neil Jenkins) and Bärenreiter in 2014.
A. Vom Himmel hoch
The text is the first stanza of "", a hymn by Martin Luther paraphrasing the Annunciation to the shepherds, annunciation to and Adoration of the Shepherds, adoration of the shepherds from . Bach sets this first ''laudes'' a cappella in four parts, and, like the two preceding movements, in the tonic key. The form is a chorale fantasia, with all sopranos singing the 1539 chorale melody attributed to Luther as a cantus firmus, while the lower voices make the counterpoint by imitating sections of the melody line Diminution#Diminution in composition, in diminished time. Where the Latin of the preceding movements may have been largely incomprehensible for the congregation in Bach's time, here is a first movement that was not only recognizable for the words, but also for the melody: the chorale would have been sung by the congregation the preceding evening during the Christmas Eve service.
Quarter of a century later Bach returned to the chorale melody of "Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her", writing Canonic Variations on "Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her", a set of five canonic variations on that theme (BWV 769), one of a few List of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach printed during his lifetime#Canonic Variations on "Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her", compositions printed during the composer's lifetime. Bach also included three settings of the chorale melody in his ''Christmas Oratorio''. (in the ''Orgelbüchlein''), 700, 701, 738 and 738a are chorale preludes based on the "Vom Himmel hoch" theme.
B. Freut euch und jubiliert
The text of this movement is "" (Rejoice with pious mind, To Bethlehem go now and find The fair and holy new-born Boy, Who is your comfort peace, and joy), a verse by Sethus Calvisius.
:For SSAT, , .
C. Gloria in excelsis
The text, "", is a variant of the opening verse of the . The better known version from the Vulgate, ending on "... bonae voluntatis", is an incorrect rendering of the original Greek version of , there said by angels in the Christmas night. The Vulgate version translates as "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will", while the end of the Greek version is rendered more correctly as "Peace on earth, and good will towards men", as it was understood by Luther (""). Lutheran theologians thus rejected the Vulgate version (they would have the verse end on "... bonae voluntes" in Latin), while composers were attached to the classic formula for its melodious rhythm. This Magnificat interpolation is the only place where Bach uses a version of the Gloria text that differs from the Vulgate, more or less catching the spirit of the theologian-approved version.
: For SSATB and violins, E-flat major, .
D. Virga Jesse floruit
The text is "" (The stem of Jesse hath flourished, Our Jesus, Emanuel hath appeared, And hath put on human flesh, And become a lovely child, Alleluja!) and is a fragment of a longer Christmas hymn that was printed in Gottfried Vopelius' ''Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch''.
: For S B, F major, 12/8.
Reception history
After the composer's death the autographs of both the E-flat major and the D major version of the Magnificat were owned by his son Carl Philipp Emanuel. Publication followed in the 19th century, including the Christmas hymns of the E-flat major version, and a variety of vocal and instrumental scores adapted to contemporary performance practice for the D major version. By the end of that century "The Magnificat in D (was) considered one of the grandest illustrations of Bach's genius." Generally it was also the D major version without the Christmas hymns that was chosen for performance.
A new critical edition of both BWV 243.2 and 243.1 was published in 1955 as Series 2, Volume 3 of the New Bach Edition
The New Bach Edition (NBE) (german: Neue Bach-Ausgabe; NBA), is the second complete edition of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, published by Bärenreiter. The name is short for Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): New Edition of the Complete W ...
. Although the D major version remained the standard for life performance and studio recordings, half a century later also the E-flat major version had been published in new editions adapted to performance, it had been recorded several times, and its composition history had been further unravelled.
18th century
In 1749, a year before his father's death, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Magnificat (C. P. E. Bach), Magnificat in D major had been performed in Leipzig, like his father's an extended setting. When Johann Sebastian had died, Carl Philipp Emanuel owned the autograph of both versions of his father's Magnificat, and staged the composition in Hamburg in 1786.
Laudes A and B (transposed to fit in a D major composition) were combined with a movement of a cantate by Graun (probably Carl Heinrich Graun) to form a Christmas motet, ''Kündlich groß ist das gottselige Geheimnis'',
19th century
The score of the E-flat major version of Bach's Magnificat was first published by N. Simrock, Simrock in 1811, edited by Georg Pölchau, however with printing errors, and without the Christmas hymns. It was the first composition of Bach for vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra that was printed in orchestral score, but at the time this publication had little success in sales. When in 1822 young Felix Mendelssohn composed a Magnificat in D major he showed that he knew Bach's version.
The D major version of Bach's Magnificat didn't appear in print before the Bach-revival that followed Mendelssohn's 1829 performance of the ''St Matthew Passion''. In the 1840s a piano reduction by Robert Franz of Bach's D major version of the Magnificat appeared. In 1862 the orchestral and vocal score was published in Volume 11/1 of the Bach-Gesellschaft edition. The same edition printed the Christmas interpolations for the first time. A year later Robert Franz complained the composition had still received too little attention from music critics and so remained virtually unknown to the general public. A year later he published the D major version of the Magnificat with an orchestral score in line with 19th century performance practice, for example expanding the "organ and continuo" single stave with annotated bass from the autograph and the Bach-edition into several separate staves for organ, bassoon and celli.
Novello & Co, Novello printed an ''Octavo'' edition of the D major Magnificat in 1874, using a translation to English which John Troutbeck based on the text in The Book of Common Prayer. In 1880, when Bach's autographs of the composition were already kept in the Berlin State Library, Royal Library (later State Library) of Berlin, Philipp Spitta devoted many pages to the Magnificat in his Bach-biography, considering it recognized as one of the greatest achievements of the composer's genius. Bach's Magnificat was performed several times in the last quarter of the 19th century, for instance in Germany and the Netherlands.
20th century
In 1924 Arnold Schering edited the full orchestral score of the D major version of Bach's Magnificat for publication by Ernst Eulenburg and Edition Peters. Performances of the Magnificat by, among others, Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra were recorded in the 1940s and appeared on 78 rpm records. LP recordings of the early 1950s included live performances of the Magnificat directed by Otto Klemperer and by Herbert von Karajan, the last one with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf as soprano.
The Neue Bach Ausgabe published Bach's Magnificat (both BWV 243.1 and BWV 243.2) in 1955, edited by Alfred Dürr
Alfred Dürr (3 March 1918 – 7 April 2011) was a German musicologist. He was a principal editor of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, the second edition of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Professional career
Dürr studied musicology and Clas ...
. This Urtext edition, Urtext score was reused in several ensuing publications by Bärenreiter, among which several with an English translation. More recordings of the Magnificat became available, for instance directed by Kurt Redel, Leonard Bernstein, Karl Richter (conductor), Karl Richter and Karl Ristenpart.[Magnificat in D major BWV 243, Complete Recordings 1960–1969](_blank)
at The second half of the 1960s saw the first recordings of the Christmas version of the Magnificat BWV 243.1 including the ''laudes'', and new recordings of the D major version by von Karajan, Karl Münchinger and Daniel Barenboim.[Magnificat in BWV 243a, Recordings](_blank)
at
The earliest LP-releases that contained the Christmas laudes of BWV 243.1 inserted them, transposed, in the D major version BWV 243.2 of the Magnificat. In this form Helmuth Rilling's recording with the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart and the appeared in 1967 with a performance time of 40:06. Wolfgang Gönnenwein's ''Bach: Magnificat in D (Including Christmas Interpolations)'', with the Deutsche Bachsolisten and the Süddeutscher Madrigalchor appeared in the 1970s.
Bruno Maderna recorded BWV 243.1, with the choir and orchestra of the Südwestdeutscher Rundfunk, and Hedy Graf, Hildegard Laurich, Adalbert Kraus and Michael Schopper as vocal soloists, in 1971. Its CD-release as volume 8 of the Maderna Edition by Arkadia was in 1991. The first recording on period instruments of Bach's Magnificat, with the four choral Christmas interpolations (BWV 243.1), was released by Simon Preston and the Academy of Ancient Music in 1978 (L'Oiseau Lyre / Decca), coupled with Vivaldi's Gloria. Nicolaus Harnoncourt's first recording of the D major version followed in 1984.[Magnificat in D major BWV 243, Complete Recordings 1980–1989](_blank)
at Also Helmuth Rilling and John Eliot Gardiner had by then recorded the D major version of the Magnificat.
20th century Magnificat composers often refer to Bach's composition in their new setting: Ralph Vaughan Williams, Vaughan Williams (Magnificat (Vaughan Williams), 1932) and John Rutter, Rutter (Magnificat (Rutter), 1990) include hymns and songs outside the liturgical text in their extended settings, like Bach's Christmas version; Penderecki's Magnificat (Penderecki), extended setting (1973–74) makes musical associations to Bach's D major setting;[David G. Dover. ''Pärt and Penderecki: Divergent Voices and Common Bonds''. University of Georgia, 1997] Pärt uses a SSATB choir in Magnificat (Pärt), his a cappella setting (1989).
Before the end of the century CD recordings of the D major version of Bach's Magnificat by Sigiswald Kuijken, Robert Shaw (conductor), Robert Shaw, Andrew Parrott, Philippe Herreweghe, Neville Marriner, Peter Schreier, Harry Christophers, Ton Koopman, and by the Bach Collegium Japan had been released. Philip Pickett's 1995 recording of the E-flat major version appeared on L'Oiseau Lyre. Other CD releases with BWV 243.1 that became available before the end of the century include a recording by Rilling and the Gächinger Kantorei, one with the Regensburger Domspatzen, and one with Rolf Schweizer, the Motettenchor Pforzheim and L'arpa festante playing on period instruments.
Novello published both the E-flat major and the D major version of the Magnificat in a single publication in 2000, edited by Neil Jenkins. This edition also offered a transposed version of the Christmas 1723 ''laudes'' so that they could be fitted in performances of the D major version of the Magnificat. The last measures of the Virga Jesse, missing from the autograph score, were in this edition completed on the base of a similar composition by Bach.
21st century
Philippe Herreweghe's 2002 recording of BWV 243.1 with Collegium Vocale Gent was released by Harmonia Mundi in 2003. In 2003 Ton Koopman recorded the Christmas version of Bach's Magnificat with Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Amsterdam Baroque in the St. Thomas church in Leipzig. A DVD of the recording, which included a performance of Kuhnau's Magnificat with his four Christmas interpolations, and of Bach's German Magnificat BWV 10, was released in 2004. Thomas Hengelbrock's recording of BWV 243.1, with the Balthasar-Neumann-Chor and Ensemble, was released by Deutsche Harmonia Mundi in 2008. In 2009 Philippe Pierlot performed the D major version of the Magnificat with the Ricercar Consort, with five vocal soloists without choir.
Facsimiles of Bach's autographs of both versions of the Magnificat became available on-line.[Bach 1723 (autograph of E-flat major version)] Bärenreiter published a critical edition of all score versions, based on Dürr's 1955 edition, again in 2014/15. The "synthetic" D major version, that is the D major version of the Magnificat with the Christmas ''laudes'' transposed to fit in that version, now published both by Novello and Bärenreiter, found performers and audiences.
That the composition ranges among Bach's most popular vocal works is illustrated by its regular appearance in classical music polls like Klara (radio station), Klara's .[E.g., in 2007 only preceded by ''St Matthew Passion'', "Jesu bleibet meine Freude", ''Christmas Oratorio'', and Mass in B minor ]
Top 75 van de klassieke muziek 2007
at ; in 2014 also 5th, after ''St Matthew Passion'', "Bist du bei mir", ''Christmas Oratorio'' and "Jesu bleibet meine Freude"
Klara Top 100 – De stand
at In December 2016, Bach's autograph of the D major version of his Magnificat was among the top three most visited scores at the Bach Digital website.
References
Sources
*
* Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach, Johann Sebastian. Magnificat in E-flat major.
** (1720–1739) Autograph
Magnificat E-flat major and Christmas hymns
(Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz, D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 38, at ) Note: Virga Jesse incomplete
** (1811) First edition of the Magnificat score, E-flat major version, without the Christmas hymns.
** (1862) scores:Magnificat in E-flat major, BWV 243a (Bach, Johann Sebastian), Von Himmel hoch (SATB) / Freut euch und jubiliert (SSAT, continuo) / Gloria (SSATB with colla parte instruments & violino obligato) / Virga Jesse (fragment – S, B, continuo). Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe, Volume 11.1, Appendix. Edited by Wilhelm Rust. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel
** (1959) ''Magnificat Es-dur: Herausgegeben von Alfred Dürr
Alfred Dürr (3 March 1918 – 7 April 2011) was a German musicologist. He was a principal editor of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, the second edition of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Professional career
Dürr studied musicology and Clas ...
'', Taschenpartituren No. 58. Bärenreiter, 1959.
** (2014a)
* Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach, Johann Sebastian. Magnificat in D major.
** ( 1732–1735) Autograph: Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz, D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 39:
*** Manuscript of BWV 243.2 at
***scores:Magnificat in D major, BWV 243 (Bach, Johann Sebastian), Composer's Manuscript at IMSLP
** (1841) ''Magnificat in D-Dur : Klavierauszug'', edited by Robert Franz. Breslau: Leuckart.
** (1862) Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe, Band 11.1. ''scores:Magnificat in D major, BWV 243 (Bach, Johann Sebastian), Magnificat D dur und vier Sanctus'', edited by Wilhelm Rust. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel.
** (1864
''Magnificat (in D-dur) bearbeitet von Robert Franz''
Leipzig: Leuckart
** (1874) ''Magnificat in D, in vocal score with an accompaniment for the organ or pianoforte – The adaptation to English words by J. Troutbeck''. Novello's Original Octavo Edition. Novello, Ewer and Co.
** (1895) ''Magnificat in D dur: Klavierauszug von Salomon Jadassohn''. Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel
**
** ( 1956) Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke, Series 2: Messen, Passionen und oratorische Werke, Volume 3: ''Magnificat D-dur BWV 243: Klavierauszug'' (Eduard Müller). Kassel (etc.): Bärenreiter.
** ( 1956) ''Magnificat D-Dur, BWV 243''. Urtext of the New Bach Edition (Alfred Dürr
Alfred Dürr (3 March 1918 – 7 April 2011) was a German musicologist. He was a principal editor of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, the second edition of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Professional career
Dürr studied musicology and Clas ...
). Foreword by the editor in German. English translation by Hans Ferdinand Redlich. For solo voices (SSATB), chorus (SSATB) and orchestra. Parts for: fl1, fl2, ob1, ob2, bsn1, tpt1, tpt2, tpt3, timp. – organ – strings (3,3,2,2). Duration: 30 min.
** (1959)
Magnificat in D major, BWV 243
' Urtext edition taken from: J.S. Bach, Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke, Series II, Vol. 3: Magnificat (Alfred Dürr). Preface in German with English translation by Hans Ferdinand Redlich, Jeremy Noble and J. Bradford Robinson. Kassel / New York : Bärenreiter. 11th printing, 2005.
** (2014b)
* Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach, Johann Sebastian. Magnificat in E-flat major and Magnificat in D major (published together)
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** (2000)
* Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach, Johann Sebastian.
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* Gresham College lecture.
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* Philipp Spitta, Spitta, Philipp. "Fünftes Buch: Leipziger Jahre von 1723–1734" in ''Spitta's Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach'', Zweiter Band. Breitkopf & Härtel, 1880.
"Fünftes Buch: Leipziger Jahre von 1723–1734" pp. 3–479
in ''Spitta's Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach'', Zweiter Band. Dritte unveränderte Auflage, Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1921.
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Further reading
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External links
Performance of the Magnificat in D major (BWV 243)
by the Netherlands Bach Society (video and background information)
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Magnificat (MIDI)
from impresario.ch, with practice files for choristers
Keep it Short: J S Bach Magnificat
a 2011 Gresham College lecture by Christopher Hogwood
{{authority control
Compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach
1733 compositions
Magnificat settings, Bach
Compositions with natural trumpets in D