Magnificat (Bach)

Johann Sebastian Bach's Magnificat is a musical setting of the biblical canticle Magnificat. The sacred choral work on a Latin text is scored for five vocal parts (two sopranos, alto, tenor and bass), and a Baroque orchestra. Formally it is a cantata.

The first version of the piece, in the key of E-flat major, was in twelve movements. Bach composed it 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. In the catalogue of Bach's works this version of the work was given the number BWV 243a.

For the feast of visitation of 1733, Bach produced a new version of the Magnificat, without the Christmas hymns: there were some changes in instrumentation, and the key changed from E-flat major to D major, for performance reasons of the trumpet parts. It was this final version of Bach's Magnificat, BWV 243, that became a standard for performance.

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.

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.

Magnificat in E-flat major, BWV 243a (1723)

Bach composed the E-flat major version of the Magnificat in 1723, for Visitation, which was celebrated on 2 July in Bach's time. Later that year he used that E-flat major version again for the Christmas Vespers, with additional interpolated texts related to Christmas.

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.

Version for the feast of Visitation (2 July)

Bach composed the work in 1723, his first year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, for the Marian feast of the Visitation. Bach first performed the Magnificat on the feast day, 2 July.

A few weeks after he had taken up his post on the first Sunday after Trinity, 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".

Version for Christmas

For Christmas the same year, he performed it again with four inserted laudes, songs of praise partly in German, partly in Latin.

Version in D major, BWV 243, for the feast of Visitation 1733

Around 1730 Bach reworked this Magnificat to a version in D major without the Christmas additions. This final version had its premiere at the Thomaskirche on Visitation 1733, which coincided with the fourth Sunday after Trinity Sunday that year. The feast ended the period of mourning the death of the elector Augustus the Strong. The key of D major was better suited to the trumpets.

After publication of both versions (and the Christmas additions) in the 19th century, the D major version became the best known version, most often performed without the Christmas additions.

Scoring

The Magnificat is one of few works which Bach set for a five-part choir, along with the motet Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227, and the 1733 Mass for the Dresden court, consisting of a Kyrie and Gloria that quarter of a century later were included in the Mass in B minor.

BWV 243a

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", 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.

BWV 243

The 1733 version of Bach's Magnificat is scored for five soloists, soprano I/II, alto, tenor, bass, a five-part choir, three trumpets (in D), timpani (in D and A), two traversos, two oboes (oboe d'amore for movements three and four), two violins, viola, and basso continuo.

Structure and movements

Bach's Magnificat is divided into twelve movements (+ the 4 additional movements of the Christmas 1723 version). Its performance lasts approximately twenty-five to thirty minutes.

Structure

The work 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 full orchestra (apart from the recorders in the BWV 243a version) 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.

The four Christmas hymn movements are placed after the second, fifth, seventh and ninth movement on the Magnificat text.

Overview of movements

The following table shows the title, text sources, time and voices. Additionally,

for BWV 243a

• Orchestration:
  • Winds (& Timpani): trumpets (Tr), timpani (Ti), traversos (Fl) and oboes (Ob) / oboes d'amore (ObA)
  • Strings (& Basso continuo): violins (Vl), viola (Va) and organ/basso continuo (Bc)
• Key signature

for BWV 243

• Tempo marking
• Instruments (two columns)
• Key signature
• Page number in Bach's autograph

Magnificat (Bach)					BWV 243a Christmas 1723 version			BWV 243 Visitation 1733 version
No.	Title	Text source	Time	Voices	Winds & Ti	Strings & Bc	Key	Tempo	Winds	Strings	Key	Autograph p.
1	Magnificat anima mea	Luke 1:46	3/4	SSATB	3Tr Ti 2Ob	2Vl Va	E-flat major		3Tr Ti 2Fl 2Ob	2Vl Va Bc	D major	1-15
2	Et exultavit spiritus meus	Luke 1:47	3/8	SII		2Vl Va	E-flat major			2Vl Va Bc	D major	16-18
A	Vom Himmel hoch	Hymn by Martin Luther		SSATB			E-flat major					/
3	Quia respexit humiltatem	Luke 1:48 beginning		SI	Ob		C minor	Adagio	ObAI	Bc	B minor	18-19
4	Omnes generationes	Luke 1:48 end		SSATB	2Ob	2Vl Va	G minor		2Fl 2ObA	2Vl Va Bc
5	Quia fecit mihi magna	Luke 1:49		B			E-flat major
B	Freut euch und jubilieret	Verse by Sethus Calvisius		SSAT			B-flat major					/
6	Et misericordia	Luke 1:50	12/8	A T		2Vl Va	F minor			2Vl Va
7	Fecit potentiam	Luke 1:51		SSATB	3Tr Ti 2Ob	2Vl Va	E-flat major		3Tr Ti 2Ob	2Vl Va
C	Gloria in excelsis Deo	Luke 2:14		SSATB		Vl	E-flat major					/
8	Deposuit potentes	Luke 1:52	3/4	T		Vl	G minor			Vl
9	Esurientes	Luke 1:53		A	2Fl		F major		2Fl
D	Virga Jesse floruit	fragment of a longer Christmas hymn	12/8	S B			F major					/
10	Suscepit Israel	Luke 1:54		SSA	Tr		C minor		Tr
11	Sicut locutus est	Luke 1:55		SSATB			E-flat major
12	Gloria Patri Sicut erat in principio	Doxology	3/4	SSATB	3Tr Ti 2Ob	2Vl Va	E-flat major		3Tr Ti 2Ob	2Vl Va

The twelve movements of the Magnificat canticle

The description of the movements refers to both the E-flat major version (BWV 243a) and the D-major version (BWV 243), unless otherwise indicated.

1

The opening movement Magnificat anima mea is performed by all forces, except, in the E-flat major version, the recorders. In the D major version, BWV 243, two traversos are included in the orchestra and play in the opening movement. 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. Michael Steinberg assumes in his Choral Masterworks: A Listener's Guide that it is of symbolic meaning that the sopranos enter alone. 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). In the Christmas version, it is followed by the first interpolation, the hymn "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her".

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 (only D major version). Steinberg notes that voice and instrument first share the material in a "cotemplative duet", but on ecce enim ex hoc beatam (from henceforth shall call me blessed) the voice changes to a "simpler, more declamatory style".

4

The continuation of the verse and completion of the sentence, Omnes generationes (all generations), is given to the chorus, 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. Steinberg comments that Bach took the idea of the separating the two words from the rest of the verse from earlier models, but filled it with an "exciting sense of drama" by the piled-up entrances in a "tremendous march across key after key", leading to "tense dissonances", finally a "dramatic pause" before the last statement.

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 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.

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

A. Vom Himmel hoch

The text is the first stanza of a hymn by Martin Luther, Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her, a paraphrase of the Annunciation to the shepherds. It is set for four parts in E-flat major and as a chorale fantasia, with the soprano singing the melody in long notes, the lower voices in imitation of the motifs.

B. Freut euch und jubilieret

For SSAT, B-flat major, . The text is a verse by Sethus Calvisius.

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.

Publication

The earliest sources for the E-flat major version of the Magnificat are autographs for the performances on 2 July and 25 December 1723, including the Christmas parts, kept by the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. The autograph of the D major version of the Magnificat can be dated around 1732-1753. Copies of both manuscripts have been published as on-line resources.

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. At the time, this publication had little success in sales.

The D major version of Bach's Magnificat didn't appear in print before the Bach-revival that followed Felix Mendelssohn's 1829 performance of the St Matthew Passion. In the 1840s a piano reduction of the D major version by Robert Franz appeared. In 1862 the orchestral and vocal score was published in Volume 11/1 of the Bach-Gesellschaft edition. Soon an orchestration more in line with 19th century performance practice followed, e.g. the "organ and continuo" single stave with annotated bass from the autograph and the Bach-edition was expanded in several staves for organ, bassoon and celli by Robert Franz. The Christmas hymns for the E-flat major version had been included, and printed for the first time, in the appendix of the 1862 Bach-Gesellschaft publication.

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 1924 Arnold Schering edited the full orchestral score for publication by Ernst Eulenburg and Edition Peters.

The Neue Bach Ausgabe published Bach's Magnificat (both BWV 243a and BWV 243) in 1955, edited by Alfred Dürr. This Urtext score was reused in several ensuing publications by Bärenreiter, among which several with English translations. 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. Bärenreiter published a critical edition of all versions, based on Dürr's 1955 edition, again in 2014/15.

Selected recordings

BWV 243a

• 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.

BWV 243

• Brilliant Classics 99376/6: Lynda Russell, Gillian Fisher, Alison Browner, Caroline Trevor, Ian Partridge, Michael George, The Sixteen Choir & Orchestra, Harry Christophers

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
  • (1959) Magnificat Es-dur: Herausgegeben von Alfred Dürr, Taschenpartituren No. 58. Bärenreiter, 1959.
  • (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.
  • (c. 1732-1735) Autograph: Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz, D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 39:
    • "Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz : D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 39". Bach digital. Retrieved 18 November 2014. Manuscript of BWV 243 at www.bach-digital.de
    • Composer's Manuscript at IMSLP
  • (1841) Magnificat in D-Dur : Klavierauszug, edited by Robert Franz. Breslau: Leuckart.
  • (1862) Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe, Band 11.1. 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
  • (1924) Magnificat, edited by Arnold Schering. Ernst Eulenburg and Edition Peters.
  • (c. 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.
  • (c. 1956) Magnificat D-Dur, BWV 243. Urtext of the New Bach Edition (Alfred Dürr). 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.
  • (2014) "Magnificat D-Dur BWV 243 (mit den vier Einlagesätzen aus der Es-Dur-Fassung BWV 243a, transponiert) 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 E-flat major and Magnificat in D major (published together)
  • (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.
  • (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)
• 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.{{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
• Hogwood, Christopher. Keep it Short: J S Bach Magnificat, a 2011 Gresham College lecture.
• 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)
• Steinberg, Michael (2005). "Choral Masterworks: A Listener's Guide". Oxford University Press. pp. 31–34. ISBN 0-19-802921-7. {{cite web}}: 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)
• Schweitzer, Albert, 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
• Zenck, Martin. "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

• Free scores by Magnificat in D major at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
• Oron, Aryeh (2012). "Magnificats BWV 243 & BWV 243a - Details". Bach Cantatas. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
• "Frontispiece of the 1811 first edition". Auction catalogue. Sotheby's. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
• 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
• Magnificat – Omnes generationes – number symbolism (YouTube video)