Magnificat in D Major, Wq 215
Chorus: S-A-T-B
Soloists: S-A-T-B
Orchestra: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings, continuo
***
Magnificat
Quia respexit (soprano)
Quia fecit mihi magna (tenor)
Et misericordia eius
Fecit potentiam (bass)
Deposuit potentes (alto, tenor)
Suscepit Israel (alto)
Gloria patri
Sicut erat in principio
Program Notes by Martin Pearlman
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the eldest son of Johann Sebastian, wrote his brilliant Magnificat in 1749. It was his first large-scale work, but the reason that he wrote it is a matter of some speculation. At the time, he was employed in Prussia at the court of Frederick the Great, where his principal occupation was as a composer and keyboard player. Whether or not this work was written as an application for another job, as some writers have suggested, it was in all probability not performed until after he had taken a position in Hamburg nearly twenty years later. As music director for the five principal churches in Hamburg, Bach would doubtless have found it useful to resurrect an earlier work such as this to supplement his newer output of religious music. But in resurrecting it, he did not merely dust off the old score, but he recycled parts of this music for other uses in his St. Matthew Passion, his Easter Music cantata, and other works. Late in his life, he appears to have made revisions to this early work and give it a grander sound with the addition of horns, trumpets and timpani.
In much of the son's score, one can feel the influence of the father, who was still alive when this work was first written. Many of the melodic lines and harmonies may be reminiscent of Johann Sebastian, but stylistically Philipp Emanuel's Magnificat is more "modern" than that of his father. Movements in quasi-sonata form look forward to Haydn and Mozart, and some of the harmony even anticipates the nineteenth century. Unlike Johann Sebastian's music, this is for the most part not a contrapuntal work with independent lines. Rather much of the music is homophonic, featuring melodic lines with accompaniments. Even the exhilarating violin parts in the opening movement form a background to simple harmonic writing in the chorus. Only the final movement is in a truly older contrapuntal style. Here C. P. E. Bach creates a double fugue, beginning with a single subject, introducing a second one for the "Amen," and then superimposing the two. Commentators have remarked on the similarity between the first subject and that of the Kyrie in Mozart's Requiem, which was written more than 40 years later. Philipp Emanuel's fugue, however, is extended in length almost to the breaking point, beyond what we find in the fugues of his father or of Mozart. It is a huge capstone to this brilliant early work.
Orchestration Chart
This chart gives an overview of the work, showing which soloists and instruments are in each movement. It has also been useful in planning rehearsals, since one can see at a glance all the music that a particular musician plays. Red X's indicate major solo moments for a singer. An X in parentheses indicates that the use of that instrument is ad libitum.
This is a preview of the beginning of the chart. You can download or view a PDF of the whole chart here.
© Boston Baroque 2020
Boston Baroque Performances
Magnificat
May 7, 1993
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloists:
Dominique Labelle, soprano
Mary Ann Hart, mezzo-soprano
Bruce Fowler, tenor
David Arnold, baritone