Magnificat (Bruckner)

The Magnificat WAB 24 by Anton Bruckner is a setting of the Magnificat^[1] for vocal soloists, chorus, orchestra and organ written in 1852. It was premiered in Sankt Florian, as Bruckner had specifically composed it for the Vesper service of the church there.^[2] The work "remained in the repertoire of the monastery for at least the next few years."^[3]

The quartet of vocal soloists consists of a soprano, an alto, a tenor, and a bass, while the choir consists of sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses. The orchestra consists of 2 trumpets in B-flat, timpani, and strings without violas. The organ supplies figured bass. The setting is in B-flat major at a tempo of Allegro moderato.

The first verse ("Magnificat") is sung by the soprano soloist. The next verses are sung as an Arioso alternatingly by the soloists and the choir.
The setting is followed by a Gloria Patri, starting by an unison on "Gloria Patri", the retake of the melody of the first verse on "Sicut erat", and concludes with "a final fugal Amen."^[4]

The influence of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is revealed through comparison to Mozart's Vespers K. 321 and K. 339.^[5]

Discography

There are only two recordings of this work:

• The LP-recording of 1984 of the Monteverdi Choir with the Israel Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Jürgen Jürgens, at Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem, has recently been transferred to CD:
  CD - Music of the St. Florian Period (1845-1855), BSVD-0109, 2011
• Anton Bruckner in St. Florian – Requiem & Motetten, Franz Farnberger conducting the Instrumentalensemble St. Florian and the St. Florianer Sängerknaben - CD Studio SM D2639 SM 44, 1997

Notes

1. ^ p. 14 (1977) Simpson
2. ^ p. 43 (2004) Hawkshaw
3. ^ p. [blank] (1996) Hawkshaw
4. ^ p. 92 (1975) Watson
5. ^ p. 45 (2004) Hawkshaw

References

• Hawkshaw, Paul (2004) "Bruckner's large sacred compositions", The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner edited by Williamson, John, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
• Hawkshaw, Paul (1996) Foreword to Anton Bruckner: Sämtliche Werke: Band 20 Teil 3: Magnificat F-Moll: Studienpartitur Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Vienna
• Howie, A. Crawford (2004) "Bruckner and the motet", The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner, edited by Williamson, John. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
• Jackson,Timothy (1997) "Bruckner's 'Oktaven'", Music & Letters 78 No. 3
• Lovallo, Lee (1991) "Magnificat in B flat major" Anton Bruckner: a Discography, Rowman & Littlefield, New York
• Schönzeler, Hans-Hubert (1978) Bruckner, Marion Boyars, London
• Simpson, Robert (1977) Essence of Bruckner: An essay towards the understanding of his music, Victor Gollancz Ltd, London
• Watson, Derek (1975) Bruckner, J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd, London