Magnificat in E-flat major, BWV 243a: Difference between revisions

*Magnificat*
Magnificat
BWV 243a
by J. S. Bach
	Heimsuchung, occasion of the song of praise, Rubens school, Unionskirche, Idstein
Key	E-flat major
Related	base for Magnificat in D major, BWV 243
Occasion	Visitation; Christmas;
Bible text	Luke 1:46–55
Performed	2 July 1723: Leipzig; 25 December 1723: Leipzig;
Movements	12 (+4)
Vocal	SSATB choir and solo
Instrumental	3 trumpets; timpani; 2 recorders; 2 oboes; 2 violins; viola; continuo;

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The Magnificat in E-flat major, BWV 243a, by Johann Sebastian Bach is a musical setting of the biblical canticle Magnificat as a composition for voices and orchestra in twelve movements. Bach composed the piece in E-flat major, formally a cantata, in 1723, his first year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, for the feast of the Visitation, and first performed it on the feast day, 2 July. For Christmas the same year, he performed it again with four inserted hymns related to the occasion.^[1] The sacred choral work on the Latin text is scored for five vocal parts (two sopranos, alto, tenor and bass), and a Baroque orchestra. In 1733, Bach transposed it to D major and reworked it to the Magnificat in D major, BWV 243, again for Visitation.

While the canticle Magnificat was often set to music, being a regular part of Catholic vespers and Anglican evensong, Bach's work is one of few extended settings, along with his son's Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Magnificat and the 1990 work by John Rutter. It is the first work which Bach scored for five vocal parts, followed by only a few unusual works such as the funeral motet Jesu, meine Freude and the Missa of 1733.

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 and Pentecost) and on the three Marian feasts Annunciation, Visitation and Purification.^[2]^[3]

Bach composed the work in 1723, his first year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, for the feast of the Visitation.^[4]^[5] A few weeks after he had taken up his post on the first Sunday after Trinity,^[6] he presented an unusual extended composition and introduced five-part choral setting to Leipzig church music. Otherwise, he used five voices only in the funeral motet Jesu, meine Freude (1723), the Missa in B minor (1733) with the derived cantata [[[Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191|Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191]]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), and in the Mass in B minor. Musicologist Richard D. P. Jones notes: "Without exception these works lie outside the normal routine of Bach's sacred vocal works".^[2]

Bach first performed the Magnificat on the feast day, 2 July.^[7] For Christmas the same year, he performed it again with four inserted laudes, songs of praise partly in German, partly in Latin.^[2]^[7] Bach used as a cantus firmus in movement 10 the Gregorian chant tonus peregrinus. A year later Bach composed for the feast of the Visitation the chorale cantata [[[Meine Seel erhebt den Herren, BWV 10|Meine Seel erhebt den Herren, BWV 10]]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), on a paraphrase of the Magnificat as the text, and with the same tonus peregrinus as the base for the music.^[6]

For Visitation of 1733, he transposed his Magnificat composition to D major and reworked it to BWV 243, the version better known today.

While the canticle Magnificat was often set to music, being a regular part of Catholic vespers and Anglican evensong, Bach's work is one of few extended settings. His son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and John Rutter followed his example.^[8]

Scoring and structure

Bach scored the work festively for five vocal soloists (two sopranos (SI, SII), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B)) and a SSATB five-part choir. The Baroque orchestra consists of "due violini, due oboe, tre trombi, tamburi, basson, viola e basso continuo",^[9] i.e. two violins, two oboes, three trumpets (in E-flat), timpani (E-flat and B-flat), bassoon, viola and basso continuo. Two recorders (flauto dolce) are required for aria No. 9 Esurientes.^[10]

Movements

Bach's Magnificat consists of eleven movements for the text of Luke 1:46-55, concluded by a twelfth doxology movement. Each verse of the canticle is assigned to one movement, except verse 48, beginning with a soprano solo in the role of Mary (third movement), then switching to the fourth movement chorus when "all generations" are mentioned. The four Christmas hymn movements are placed after the second, fifth, seventh and ninth movement on the Magnificat text.

The full orchestra (apart from the recorders) plays in the first and last movements and the choral movements 4 and 7, Fecit potentiam. As in other cantatas, the movements for soloists are accompanied by an obbligato instrument, only strings or even only continuo. The choral movements are followed by two solo movements, the second one often with richer scoring.^[7]

The following table shows the title, Tempo marking, voices, time, key and text sources for the twelve movements for Visitation and the inserted movements for Christmas.

Movements of Bach's Magnificat in E-flat major (BWV 243a)
No.	Title	Voices	Winds	Strings	Key	Time	Tempo	Text source
1	Magnificat anima mea	SSATB	3Tr Ti 2Ob	2Vl Va	E-flat major	3/4		Luke 1:46
2	Et exultavit spiritus meus	SII		2Vl Va	E-flat major	3/8		Luke 1:47
A	Vom Himmel hoch	SSATB			E-flat major			Hymn by Martin Luther
3	Quia respexit humiltatem	SI	Ob		C minor		Adagio	Luke 1:48 beginning
4	Omnes generationes	SSATB	2Ob	2Vl Va	G minor			Luke 1:48 end
5	Quia fecit mihi magna	B			E-flat major			Luke 1:49
B	Freut euch und jubilieret	SSAT			B-flat major			Verse by Sethus Calvisius^[11]
6	Et misericordia	A T		2Vl Va	F minor	12/8		Luke 1:50
7	Fecit potentiam	SSATB	3Tr Ti 2Ob	2Vl Va	E-flat major			Luke 1:51
C	Gloria in excelsis Deo	SSATB		Vl	E-flat major			Luke 2:14
8	Deposuit potentes	T		Vl	G minor	3/4		Luke 1:52
9	Esurientes	A	2Fl		F major			Luke 1:53
D	Virga Jesse floruit	S B			F major	12/8		fragment of a longer Christmas hymn^[12]
10	Suscepit Israel	SSA	Tr		C minor			Luke 1:54
11	Sicut locutus est	SSATB			E-flat major			Luke 1:55
12	Gloria Patri Sicut erat in principio	SSATB	3Tr Ti 2Ob	2Vl Va	E-flat major	3/4		Doxology

The twelve movements of the Magnificat canticle

The description of the movements refers to the E-flat major version (BWV 232a), unless otherwise indicated.

1

The opening movement Magnificat anima mea is performed by all forces with the exception of the recorders which are assigned only in one aria. In the D major version, BWV 243, two traverso's are included in the orchestra and play in the opening movement, unisono.^[13] An instrumental ritornello presents the material with almost continuous runs in the upper parts, octaves and broken triads in the bass. The sopranos enter first, in third parallels: they sing the first word Magnificat anima mea (literally: makes great) with a melisma on the first syllable, ending in a figure like a trill, then a stressed dotted note on the the stressed syllable "gni", and relaxing on "ficat". The motif is abbreviated to a fanfare of just four notes, a low upbeat followed by three same notes, with the first one dotted. The sopranos sing it twice, reaching first E-flat, then G. The interplay of the fanfare and the melismas shapes the movement. One measure after the sopranos, alto and tenor begin to imitate the sopranos, another measure later, the bass adds the short motif as an octave up. The text remains Magnificat for most of the movement, the conclusion "anima mea" (my soul) is heard by the alto for the first time, in measure 67, embedded in the other voices' Magnificat. All parts sing "Dominum" (the Lord) only once, soprano II beginning with a long note continued by a melisma in measure 73, the others in 74. The closing ritorello is a shorter version of the beginning.

2

Et exultavit spiritus meus is an aria sung by soprano II, accompanied by the strings which introduce the motifs in eight measures. Et exultavit (And exults) begins with a broken upward triad and is followed by a rest, spiritus meus (my spirit) is a sequence of 16th notes, two for every syllable. Longer melismas illustrate salutari (salvation).

3

Quia respexit humiltatem (Because he respected the humility) is an aria sung by soprano I with an obbligato oboe. It is the only movement that Bach marked for a tempo at the beginning: Adagio.

4

Omnes generationes (all generations) is given to the chorus in the middle of the sentence, expressing the fullness of the praise. It is a complex fugue, with four voices starting together. The theme, beginning with five repeated notes, appears first in the bass, a measure later in SI on the same note, followed every half by entrances a fifth higher in SII, alto, tenor and bass, half a measure later in the alto. Beginning in measure 10, the voices enter, again half a measure apart, with the bass beginning. From measure 15, every entrance is one note higher, covering an octave as a symbol of completeness (omnes), again in the fast succession of half a measure: A, SII, SI, T, B, SII, SI, A. In a final sequence beginning in measure 21, the voices enter from bottom to top on the same note, only one beat apart and doubling the word "omnes". The movement concludes repeating the theme in homophony.

5

Quia fecit mihi magna (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. Elements are a downward leap of a sixth and a downward scale of an octave, which appears in the voice on the word "sanctum" (holy).

6

Et misericordia (And mercy) begins in great contrast softly with undulating movement in 12/8 time, played by violins con sordino. It is a duet of alto and tenor, beginning in parallels of sixths and staying in homophony for most of the movement.

7

Fecit potentiam (He shows strength) shares key and scoring with the first movement. Based on a continuo line of octaves and repeated 16th, strength is expressed by irregular coloraturas in one voice and homophonic simultaneous calls of the other voices. The tenor begins the coloraturas of four measures, followed by alto, SII, bass and SI, leading to the climax of the movement, two homophonic calls. The new text, dispersit, appears in various voices as broken triads, juxtaposed to material from the first section, but then isolated, in a sequence from the highest voice to the lowest and in downward triads. The conclusion, mente cordis sui, is marked Adagio and illustrates the text in pompous long chords, with accents in the trumpets.

8

Deposuit potentes (He hath put down the mighty) is an aria for tenor, accompanied by only the violins united in powerful unison. The instrumental ritornello of 14 measures presents the material. The first motif, later sung on Deposuit, begins with a short upbeat and a long note, followed by a straight downward scale and a final leap up, while the continuo presents a broken triad, straight upward one octave. The second motif, later sung on potentes, begins with an upbeat of three 16th, followed by a rhythmic pattern which expands both the lowest as the highest note, while the continuo moves in steady steps down. For the third motif, sung on de sede (from the seat), the continuo picks up the rhythm of the second motiv, while the violins play a more ornamented downward motion in sixteen continuous 16th. A fourth motif is a sequence of three measures, each a sequence of a figure of a figure of four 16th which is slowly moving upwards. When the singer takes over, the violins accent the end of each motif one to three by a broken downward triad.

The second thought of the verse, et exaltavit humiles (exalted them of low degree), is sung without introduction as a melisma of four measures, which includes downward runs but in a steadily rising sequence and ending similarly to the sequence of motif four, on exaltavit, but a modest downward line on humiles (the humble). After a shorter ritornello, the tenor sings the complete text again, the first part in a slightly modified version, but the exaltation considerably expanded. Nonetheless, the ritornello in full length is repeated at the end.

9

Esurientes (The hungry) is sung by the alto, accompanied by two recorders which may symbolise the need of the hungry. Bach used recorders also in his later cantata [[[Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot, BWV 39|Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot, BWV 39]]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). They often play in parallels of sixths and thirds. The ritornello of eight measures introduces a motiv moving up, on a continuo of steady quarter note, for four measures, later sung on Esurientes implevit bonis (He hath filled the hungry with good things), while downward lines and a continuo moving in eighth notes later go with et divites dimisit (and the rich he hath sent away). In Latin, the last word is inanes (empty), which Bach sometimes separates by rests.

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. The text continuoes recordatus misericordiae suae (in remembrance of his mercy) Bach "remembers" the Gregorian chant of the Magnificat, called tonus peregrinus, which the oboes play as a cantus firmus, on a continuo line changing only every measure, moving one step down or up. The voices imitate each other, also in gentle movement, the first a fifth up in a long upbeat, the second a fifth down oe measure later, the third up again, another measure later. Almost the only leaps in the whole measure occur on the word recordatus, with a downward quart on each syllable, a figure which Bach repeated in the Et incarnatus est of his Mass in B minor. The figure that has been interpreted as a symbol of the cross, because a line drawn from the fist to the forth note crosses one from the second to the third.

11

Sicut locutus est (As he spake [to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever]), the last line of the Magnificat, is written in stile antico, the old style of the musical "fathers", as a strict fugue, one voice following the other as one generation follows the other. The theme has four distinctly different measures: the first repeated notes, the second flowing eighth notes, the third quarter notes in leaps, the fourth half notes leaping up a sixth. The countersubject has leaps down and up an octave in the second measure, the flowing eighth notes in the third measure. 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 covering almost an octave down.

12

The work is concluded by the doxology, Gloria Patri (Glory to the father), performed by the complete ensemble. Gloria is first presented as the major chord repeated three times, with a dotted note on the first syllable. In the second Gloria, leading to Patri, the voices sing the first syllable as an extended melisma beginning in upward moving lines, for three measures in the basses, half a measure less for each following voice. In the third Gloria, leading to Filio (to the Son), in a similar pattern soprano I begins, followed by alto, soprano II, tenor and bass. In the fourth Gloria, leading to et Spiritui sancto (and to the Holy Spirit), in again similar pattern the voices follow each other from top to bottom, ending in a long cadenza. The second part of the text, Sicut erat in principio (as it was in the beginning) repeats material from the beginning of the work but shortened, as a frame.

The Christmas hymns

The four hymns Bach inserted in the Magnificat for the 1723 Christmas vespers had been used by his predecessor Kuhnau in a Christmas cantata.^[11]^[12]

A. Vom Himmel hoch

For SSATB, E-flat major,

. The text is a hymn by Martin Luther.

B. Freut euch und jubilieret

For SSAT, B-flat major,

. The text is a verse by Sethus Calvisius.^[11]

C. Gloria in excelsis Deo

For SSATB and violins, E-flat major,

. Text: Luke 2:14.

D. Virga Jesse floruit

For S B, F major, 12/8. Text: fragment of a longer Christmas hymn.^[12]

Publication

The earliest sources are autographs for the performances on 2 July and 25 December 1723, including the Christmas parts, kept by the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.^[7]^[2] These are available on-line at www.bach-digital.de.^[14]

The score of the E-flat major version of Bach's Magnificat was first published by Simrock in 1811, edited by Georg Pölchau, however without the Christmas hymns.^[1]^[15] These were published in 1862, in the appendix of Volume 11/1 of the Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe, a publication that contained the D major version of the Magnificat (and not the E-flat major version).^[16]

The Neue Bach Ausgabe published the E-flat major version in 1955, edited by Alfred Dürr.^[7] Novello published an edition in 2000, edited by Neil Jenkins.^[17] Bärenreiter published a critical edition based on Dürr's 1955 edtion again in 2014/15.^[18]

Recordings

The first version of Bach's Magnificat in the Christmas version was recorded in 2002 by the Collegium Vocale Gent, conducted by Philippe Herreweghe, with soloists Carolyn Sampson, Ingeborg Danz, Mark Padmore and Sebastian Noack. A reviewer noted "bracing but not rushed tempos, infectiously energetic and technically solid contributions from the chorus, and an intelligently paced flow from movement to movement.^[19]

References

^ ^a ^b Schweitzer 1911 (volume 2), p. 166
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Jones 2013.
^ Schröder 2012.
^ Glöckner 2003
^ Butler 2008, p. 53
^ ^a ^b Rizzuti.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Digital.
^ Bawden.
^ Simrock 1811
^ Jenkins 2000, Introduction p. 5
^ ^a ^b ^c Cantagrel 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c Spitta 1899.
^ Schering 1924, p. 1
^ Autograph (E-flat major version)
^ Zenck 1986
^ Rust 1862.
^ Jenkins.
^ Bärenreiter.
^ Vernier.

Sources

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 www.bach-digital.de) Note: Virga Jesse incomplete
- (1811) Magnificat à cinque voci, due violini, due oboe, tre trombi, tamburi, basson, viola e basso continuo, edited by Georg Pölchau. (first edition of the Magnificat score, E-flat major version, without the Christmas hymns). N. Simrock, Bonn.
- (1862) 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
- (1955) Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke, Series 2: Messen, Passionen und oratorische Werke, Volume 3: Magnificat: erste Fassung in Es-Dur BWV 243a, zweite Fassung in D-Dur BWV 243, edited by Alfred Dürr. Kassel, Bärenreiter, 1955.
- (1959) Magnificat Es-dur: Herausgegeben von Alfred Dürr, Taschenpartituren No. 58. Bärenreiter, 1959.
- (2000) Jenkins, Neil. "Bach Magnificat in D & E flat BWV 243 & 243a / (Novello edition ed. N. Jenkins)" (PDF). neiljenkins.info/. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 23 September 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
- (2014) "Magnificat Es-Dur BWV 243a (mit den vier Einlagesätzen: Vom Himmel hoch / Freut euch und jubilieret / Gloria in excelsis / Virga Jesse floruit). Für Soli (SSATB), Chor (SSATB), Orchester und Orgel (lat). Nach dem Urtext der Neuen Bach-Ausgabe. Ed. A. Dürr" (PDF) (in German). Bärenreiter. 2014. p. 3. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
Bach, Johann Sebastian. Magnificat in D major.
- (ca. 1732-1735) Autograph: Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz, D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 39:
  - source_00000860 at www.bach-digital.de
  - Composer's Manuscript at IMSLP
- (1924) Magnificat, edited by Arnold Schering. Ernst Eulenburg and Edition Peters.
Bach, Johann Sebastian. "Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot BWV 39; BC A 96 / Cantata". Leipzig University. 1967. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
Bawden, John. "Magnificat – John Rutter (b. 1945)". choirs.org.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
Butler, Gregory "J. S. Bach's Concerted Ensemble Music, the Concerto", p. 53 in Bach perspectives Volume 7, University of Illinois Press, 2008 ISBN 0252031652 - ISBN 9780252031656
Cantagrel, Gilles (2011). J.-S. Bach : Passions, messes, motets (in French). Fayard. p. 260. ISBN 2-21-366547-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Dellal, Pamela. "Bach Cantata Translations / BWV 243a - "Magnificat" (E-flat Major)". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 22 September 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
Glöckner, Andreas. "Bachs Es-Dur-Magnificat BWV 243a – eine genuine Weihnachtsmusik?" in Bach-Jahrbuch Volume 89, 2003, pp. 37−45
Keep it Short: J S Bach Magnificat, a 2011 Gresham College lecture by Christopher Hogwood
Jones, Richard D. P. (2013). The Creative Development of Johann Sebastian Bach, Volume II: 1717-1750: Music to Delight the Spirit. Oxford University Press. pp. 131–136. ISBN 0-19-969628-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Rizzuti, Alberto. "One Verse, Two Settings, and Three Strange Youths" (PDF). ojs.unito.it. p. 1. Retrieved 23 September 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
Schröder, Dorothea (2012). Johann Sebastian Bach. C.H. Beck. ISBN 0-19-969628-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Spitta, Philipp (1899). Johann Sebastian Bach: his work and influence on the music of Germany, 1685-1750. Vol. 2. Novello. pp. 369–371. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Vernier, David. "J.S. Bach: Leipzig Christmas cantatas; Magnificat/Herreweghe". classicstoday.com. Retrieved 23 September 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
Albert Schweitzer, translated by Ernest Newman. The Magnificat and the St. John Passion, Chapter XXVI of J. S. Bach, Volume 2 of 2. Breitkopf & Härtel, 1911. Reprint: Dover, 1966. ISBN 0486216322 - ISBN 9780486216324
Martin Zenck. "Die Bach-Rezeption des späten Beethoven: zum Verhältnis von Musikhistoriographie und Rezeptionsgeschichtsschreibung der “Klassik”", p. 234 in Beihefte zum Archiv für Musikwissenschaft, ISSN 0570-6769 - Volume 24. Franz Steiner Verlag, 1986. ISBN 3515033122 - ISBN 9783515033121

External links

"Magnificat in E flat major (first version) BWV 243a; BC E 13 / Mass". Leipzig University. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
Magnificat in D major BWV 243 / Magnificat in E flat major BWV 243a from bach-cantatas.com
Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz / D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 39 Manuscript, bach-digital.de
Frontispiece of the 1811 first edition (at Sotheby's website)

[Schweitzer1911V2p166-1] Schweitzer 1911 (volume 2), p. 166

[FOOTNOTEJones2013-2] Jones 2013.

[FOOTNOTESchröder2012-3] Schröder 2012.

[4] Glöckner 2003

[5] Butler 2008, p. 53

[FOOTNOTERizzuti-6] Rizzuti.

[FOOTNOTEDigital-7] Digital.

[FOOTNOTEBawden-8] Bawden.

[9] Simrock 1811

[10] Jenkins 2000, Introduction p. 5

[FOOTNOTECantagrel2011-11] Cantagrel 2011.

[FOOTNOTESpitta1899-12] Spitta 1899.

[13] Schering 1924, p. 1

[14] Autograph (E-flat major version)

[15] Zenck 1986

[16] Rust 1862.

[FOOTNOTEJenkins-17] Jenkins.

[FOOTNOTEBärenreiter-18] Bärenreiter.

[FOOTNOTEVernier-19] Vernier.

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