Justin Appel

Dear Friends,

Today our Gospel lesson (Luke 1:39-56) includes the story of Elizabeth’s visit to Mary and of Mary’s Song, or as we know it in the Latin, the Magnificat. As a result, and feeling a bit like a kid in a candy shop, I am happy to share some marvelous settings of this text. We are especially blessed in the Anglican tradition to have many lovely liturgical settings of this canticle, since it (and its Compline pair, the Song of Simeon) has been set to music by English composers with great frequency. However, the Magnificat has been set in every time and place where the text has had a liturgical use. Below, I’ve included links to six different settings, ranging from great examples in Latin, English, and Old Church Slavonic.

Christmas is nearly here!

Yours in Christ,
Justin

Magnificat Quinti Toni, Hieronymus Praetorius (1560-1629)

Magnificat in D Major, George Dyson (1883-1964) (a chorister favorite!)

Magnificat ‘Collegium Magdalenae Oxoniense’, Kenneth Leighton (1929-1988) and it’s Gloria Patri

Magnificat Primi Toni, Lodovico Viadana (1560-1627)

Mary’s Magnificat, Andrew Carter (b. 1939)

Velichit Dusha Moya Gospoda from the All-Night Vigil, Sergei Rachmaninov