Bach: Magnificat; Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen

Description: Magnificat (Bach)20 languagesArticleTalkReadEditView historyToolsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaMagnificatBWV 243.2by J. S. BachFirst page of Bach's autograph scoreKeyD majorRelatedBWV 243.1 (1723)OccasionLutheran vespers on feast dayTextLuke 1:46–55doxologyLanguageLatinPerformedLeipzig, c. 1733Movements12VocalSSATB choir and soloInstrumental3 trumpetstimpani2 traversos2 oboes2 oboes d'amorestringscontinuoJohann Sebastian Bach's Magnificat, BWV 243, is a musical setting of the biblical canticle Magnificat. 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 in Leipzig, Bach set the text of the Magnificat in a twelve movement composition in the key of E-flat major. For a performance at Christmas 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.[1]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, for performance reasons of the trumpet parts. This version of Bach's Magnificat is known as BWV 243.2 (previously BWV 243).[2]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[edit]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)[3] and on the three Marian feasts Annunciation, Visitation and Purification.[4][5]Bach's tenure as Thomaskantor in Leipzig[edit]See also: Johann Sebastian Bach § Leipzig (1723–50)Apart from an early setting of the Kyrie, on a mixed Greek and German text (BWV 233a),[6][7] all of Bach's known liturgical compositions in Latin were composed during his tenure as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, from 1723 until his death in 1750. Compared to Lutheran practice elsewhere, an uncharacteristic amount of Latin was used in church services in Leipzig.[8] 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.[9] At the time Johann Kuhnau was the Cantor in Leipzig.[10] 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 Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn, BWV 23.[11][12] Bach assumed the position of Thomaskantor on 30 May 1723, the first Sunday after Trinity, performing an ambitious cantata in 14 movements, Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75, followed by a comparable cantata, Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76 the next Sunday.Traditional setting of the German Magnificat[edit]Traditional D minor setting of Luther's German Magnificat, which is a particular German version of the ninth tone or tonus peregrinus[13]See also: Meine Seele erhebt den HerrenThe traditional setting of Luther's German translation of the Magnificat ("Meine Seele erhebt den Herren") is a German variant of the tonus peregrinus, a rather exceptional psalm tone in Gregorian chant.[13] The tonus peregrinus (or ninth tone) is associated with the ninth mode or Aeolian mode.[14] For the traditional setting of Luther's German Magnificat that is the minor mode for which the last note of the melodic formula is the tonic, a fifth below its opening note.The tonus peregrinus variant that is associated with Luther's German Magnificat appears in compositions by, among others, Johann Hermann Schein, Heinrich Schütz, Johann Pachelbel and Dietrich Buxtehude. Bach uses the melodic formula as an instrumental cantus firmus in movement 10 (Suscepit Israel) of his Latin Magnificat.[15] He uses it again in his "German Magnificat", i.e. the cantata Meine Seel erhebt den Herren BWV 10 composed for Visitation of 1724, in the chorale harmonisations BWV 323 and 324, and in the fourth Schübler Chorale BWV 648.[16][17] Also in BWV 733, Fuga sopra il Magnificat, the melodic formula is used as a theme: this chorale prelude may however be the work of Bach pupil Johann Ludwig Krebs.[18][19]Extended settings of the Magnificat[edit]See also: List of Magnificat composersBeing a quintessential part of vespers, evensong or matins, the Magnificat was, already for over a century before Bach's composition, the liturgical text that was most often set to music apart from the Mass ordinary.[20][21][22] In Protestantism there was no Latin text more often set to music than the Magnificat.[23] Also settings of the German text of the Magnificat were current from the early 17th century, without one form suppressing the other.[23]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.[24] 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.[23] In a Lutheran tradition there is for example Schütz' Latin Magnificat, SWV 468.[23] Magnificat composers like Johann Levini, Antonio Lotti and Francesco Durante are cited as possible inspirations for Bach.[25][26] 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).[3][26][27][28] Also Graupner's 1722 Magnificat had this split.[11]Another characteristic of Bach's Magnificat is that it is set for a five-part chorus. Extending a standard SATB 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.[10] Bach had already composed for a SSATB choir in Weimar (Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret, BWV 31, an Easter cantata from 1715). He did the same in his funeral motet Jesu, meine Freude. 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.[29]Bach was not the first to include mixed German/Latin Christmas interpolations in a Magnificat sung in Latin: Hieronymus Praetorius published a Magnificat with such interpolations in 1622.[30] Samuel Scheidt's Geistliche Konzerte III (1635) contained three Magnificats with interpolations,[31] 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.[32]The Visitation version(s)[edit]In the Gospel of Luke the words of the Magnificat are spoken by Mary when she visits her cousin Elizabeth, both being pregnant, Mary with Jesus and Elizabeth with John the Baptist. In Christianity, 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 2 July 1733, 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. During that mourning period, which ran from Sexagesima Sunday (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 27 July 1733.[33][34]The first occasion after the mourning period that re-allowed concerted church music was the feast of Visitation, Thursday 2 July 1733. 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, 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.[33][34][35]MagnificatBWV 243.1by J. S. BachAdoration of the Shepherds, Augsburg, around 1730KeyE-flat majorRelatedBWV 243.2 (c. 1733)OccasionLutheran vespers on feast dayTextLuke 1:46–55doxologyChristmas interpolations: traditional German/Latin textsLanguageLatinGermanPerformedLeipzig, 1723Movements12 (+ 4 for Christmas)VocalSSATB choir and soloInstrumental3 trumpetstimpani2 recorders2 oboesstringscontinuoIn 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.[36][37][38] That would have been exactly ten years before the transposed version, and composed for the same Marian feast. Bach had taken up his post as Thomaskantor 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.[39]The Christmas interpolations[edit]See also: Magnificat in E-flat major, BWV 243a § The four Christmas interpolationsBefore 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.[4] 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.[4][37] 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.[40] 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.[23] These laudes illustrate what the Gospels describe as the circumstances around Christ's birth, and were embedded in an old tradition named Kindleinwiegen (rocking of the cradle).[41]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.[41] 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.[41]Other Magnificats by Bach?[edit]See also: Melchior Hoffmann (composer) § StyleBach's Nekrolog, the 1754 obituary written by Johann Friedrich Agricola and the composer's son Carl Philipp Emanuel, mentions that the composer wrote several Magnificats.[42][43] 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.[44] The score of that so-called "little" Magnificat (Kleine Magnificat) was rediscovered in the 20th century, and listed as BWV Anh. 21; however, its authenticity was doubted.[45] In 1982 Melchior Hoffmann was identified as the composer of this German Magnificat Meine Seel erhebt den Herren.[46] 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.[47][48]Another German libretto paraphrasing the Magnificat, published by Picander in his 1728–29 cantata cycle for performance on 2 July 1728, may have been set by Bach.[49][50] Similarly, a Meine Seele erhebet den Herrn cantata by an unknown librettist for Visitation 1725.[50] Further, Bach copied Latin Magnificats by other composers:in the early 1740s Bach copied Antonio Caldara's Magnificat in C major, arranging its Suscepit Israel movement (BWV 1082).[51][52][53]BWV Anh. 30 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. An earlier attribution of the work had been to Antonio Lotti.[54][55]Structure and movements[edit]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 (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.[56]Traditional verse divisionText sourceBach's Magnificat1.Magnificat anima mea Dominum.Luke 1:46movement 12.Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo.Luke 1:47movement 23.Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes.Luke 1:48movement 3 and 44.Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est et sanctum nomen ejus.Luke 1:49movement 55.Et misericordia ejus a progenie in progenies timentibus eum.Luke 1:50movement 66.Fecit potentiam in brachio suo dispersit superbos mente cordis sui.Luke 1:51movement 77.Deposuit potentes de sede et exaltavit humiles.Luke 1:52movement 88.Esurientes implevit bonis et divites dimisit inanes.Luke 1:53movement 99.Suscepit Israel puerum suum recordatus misericordiae suae.Luke 1:54movement 1010.Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros Abraham et semini ejus in saecula.Luke 1:55movement 1111.Gloria Patri, et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.Doxologymovement 12, time part12.Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.movement 12, 3 4 time partThere is however no numbering of movements in Bach's autographs, nor is there a caesura 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:[57]A: Hymn by Martin LutherB: Verse attributed to Sethus CalvisiusC: Luke 2:14D: Fragment of a Christmas hymnPerformance time of the Magnificat lies typically between 25 and 30 minutes,[58] with an additional five minutes for the Christmas interpolations.[59] The duration of the version without Christmas hymns is comparable with that of an average Bach cantata. However, there are many differences: the Magnificat contains about twice as many movements as an average cantata, keeping it short by avoiding da capos in the arias, and altogether no recitatives.[60] 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".[29]Scoring and key signature[edit]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 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.[37] In the movements for vocal soloists the instrumentation is as usual in Bach's cantata's: the soloists are accompanied by an obbligato instrument, only strings and/or continuo. Movement A (Vom Himmel hoch) is the only a cappella movement.As natural trumpets were usually tuned in D in Saxony,[61] this is given as a reason why Bach transposed the initial E-flat major version to D major.[62]Voices[edit]Bach set the Magnificat for SSATB five-part choir. Five vocal soloists are required: two sopranos (sI, sII), alto (a), tenor (t) and bass (b). In movement 10 (Suscepit Israel) both sopranos sing together with the alto.Orchestra[edit]The Baroque orchestra for BWV 243.1 consists of "due violini, due oboe, tre trombi, tamburi, basson, viola e basso continuo",[63] i.e. two violins (Vl), two oboes (Ob), three trumpets (Tr, tonic), timpani (Ti, tonic and dominant), bassoon, viola (Va) and basso continuo (Bc). Two recorders (flauto dolce, Fl) are required for aria No. 9 Esurientes, but are not part of the tutti.[64]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.[65] In movements three and four the oboes are replaced by oboes d'amore (Oa). In the 10th movement (Suscepit Israel) the oboes replace the trumpet for the obbligato instrumental part.[66][64]The continuo part is played by 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.[67][68] In the 1733 version this continuo line is given to a continuo that includes cello, but not bassoon and violone.Symmetrical structure[edit]Bach's Magnificat is built symmetrically around the 7th movement (Fecit potentiam):[15] 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:[69][70]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 tonicVerse 5 (movement 6): minor keyVerse 6 (movement 7, followed by movement C in the Christmas version): tonic keyVerse 7 (movement 8): minor keyVerse 8 (movement 9, followed by movement D in the Christmas version): major key different from tonicVerse 9 (movement 10): relative minor keyVerse 10 and doxology (movements 11 and 12): tonic keyRegarding 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:[69]movements two and three, both for solo soprano, build up to the Omnes generationes choral movement No. 4movements five (solo) and six (duet), build up to the 7th tutti movementmovements eight and nine (both solo movements), followed by an aria for vocal trio, build up to the final two choral movementsThe last aria in each of these sets of arias is first a solo, then a duet, then a terzet (trio).[69] 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.[70] 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").[71][44] The symmetry of the Christmas version can be pictured as follows:[70]"Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her", the melody of the cantus firmus of the "A" Christmas interpolationTwo 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.[70]Magnificat by Johann Sebastian BachBWV 243.1 (243a) Christmas 1723 versionBWV 243.2 (243) Visitation 1733 versionNo. and titleTimeVoicesInstrumentsKeyAutogr. p.[72]InstrumentsKeyAutogr. p.[72]1. Magnificat3 4SSATBtuttiE♭1–9tuttiD1–152. Et exultavit3 8sII2Vl Va BcE♭3–72Vl Va BcD16–18 A. Vom Himmel hochSATBE♭23, 25–273. Quia respexitsIOb Bcc8–9OaI Bcb18–194. Omnes generationesSSATB2Ob 2Vl Va Bcg10–122Fl 2Oa 2Vl Va Bcf♯20–255. Quia fecitbBcB♭12–13BcA20–23 B. Freut euch und jubiliertSSATBcB♭28–306. Et misericordia12 8a t2Vl Va Bcf13–152Fl 2Vl Va Bce24–287. Fecit potentiamSSATBtuttiE♭15–19tuttiD28–34 C. Gloria in excelsisSSATBVl BcE♭30–318. Deposuit potentes3 4t2Vl Va Bcg17–202Vl Bcf♯34–369. Esurientesa2Fl BcF20–212Fl BcE36–38 D. Virga Jesse floruit12 8sI bBcF3210. Suscepit IsraelsI sII aTrI Bac22Ob Bcb38–4011. Sicut locutus estSSATBBcE♭23–24BcD40–4212. Gloria Patri Sicut erat in principio3 4SSATBtuttiE♭24–2727–29tuttiD42–4545–48The 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 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.[73]

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