MAGNIFICAT (In 7 Movements) by John Rutter
Sung in Latin. Translation: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my
Saviour.
Magnificat was first performed on May 26, 1990 in Carnegie Hall, Ny Work.
Composer John Rutter was born in London in 1945 and studied music at Clare College,
Cambridge. His compositions embrace choral, orchestral and instrumental music, and he has
edited or co-edited various choral anthologies including four Carols for Choir volumes with
Sir David Willcocks and the Oxford Choral Classics series. From 1975 to 1979 he was
Director of Music at Clare College, and in 1981 he formed his own choir, the Cambridge
Singers. He now divides his time between composition and conducting and is sought after as
a guest conductor for the world’s leading choirs and orchestras. John Rutter’s music has been
widely recorded and is available on many record labels.
The composer writes:
The passage from St. Luke (chapter 1, verses 46–55) known as the Magnificat – a poetic outpouring of praise, joy
and trust in God, ascribed by Luke to the Virgin Mary on learning that she was to give birth to Christ – has always
been one of the most familiar and well-loved of scriptural texts, not least because of its inclusion as a canticle in the
Catholic office of Vespers and in Anglican Evensong. Musical settings of it abound, though surprisingly few of them
since J.S. Bach’s time give the text extended treatment. I had long wished to write an extended Magnificat, but was
not sure how to approach it until I found my starting point in the association of the text with the Virgin Mary. In
countries such as Spain, Mexico and Puerto Rico, feast days of the Virgin are joyous opportunities for people to take
to the streets and celebrate with singing, dancing and processions. These images of outdoor celebration were, I
think, somewhere in my mind as I wrote, though I was not fully conscious of the fact till afterwards. I was conscious
of following Bach’s example in adding to the liturgical text – with the lovely old English poem ‘Of a Rose’ and the
prayer ‘Sancta Maria’ (both of which strengthen the Marian connection) and with the interpolated ‘Sanctus’, sung to
the Gregorian chant of the Missa cum jubilo in the third movement. The composition of Magnificat occupied several
hectic weeks early in 1990, and the première took place in May of that year in Carnegie Hall, New York.
Terms & Musical Considerations:
Key of G Major – 1 #
3/8 & 3/4 Time Signature – 3 beats per measure, the eighth note equals one beat & 3 beats
per measure, the quarter note equals one beat.
(♩. = 88) & (♩ = 132) – the tempo suggesting that there are 88 & 132 beats per minute.
poco marcato – a little, rather marked, accented, stressed
(ff) fortissimo - very strong or loud.
(f) forte – strong or loud.
(mf) mezzo forte – moderately louder, between forte (Italian: loud) and piano (Italian: soft)
with mezzo forte being a little louder than mezzo piano.
(mp) mezzo piano - moderately soft, between forte (Italian: loud) and piano (Italian: soft)
with mezzo piano being a little quieter than mezzo forte.
(p) piano - soft, quiet.
cresc. crescendo – growing increasingly loud
legato - literally 'bound', smooth playing style in which the notes seem bound together
piu legato – more 'bound', smooth playing style in which the notes seem bound together
senza rit. – without getting gradually slower, retarding, to hold back, holding back, held
back
accent – accent, stress (on a syllable ), tone
canon / round – a musical form in which a (second, third, fourth, etc.) line starting later
than the one before it matches it note for note but such that the parts overlap
Magnificat - 'it magnifies', the first word of the canticle Magnificat anima mea dominum
(Latin: my soul doth magnify the Lord) which, since the fourteenth century, forms part of the
Roman Catholic vespers service, a setting of the Biblical hymn of the Virgin Mary (Luke I,
46-55)
Magnificat pronunciation - MAW-NEE-FEE-KAHT AH-NEE-MAH-MEH-AH MEE-AH
DAW-MEE-NOOM. EHT EX-ZOOL-TAH-TEESE SPEE-REE-TOOS MEH-OOSE EEN DEHAWE SAH-LOO-TAH-REE MEH-AWE.