As one of the three canticles from the New Testament, the Magnificat – the Canticle of Mary – has at all times held a prominent position in church music. Telemann’s setting of Luther’s German translation of the text bears eloquent witness both to the composer’s rich imagination and to his ability to mold a variety of musical shapes into a coherent formal Baroque architecture. Four solo movements with colorfully contrasting instrumentation are juxtaposed with four emphatically homogeneous choral movements; all of the latter are in 6/8 meter and in motet setting with instruments doubling colla parte. Particularly the choral movements are characterized by lively text portrayal and a wealth of at times dramatic imagery. A work of exceptional magnetism for both listeners and choir singers!
Purchase
Additional product information
Contents
-
Composer
Georg Philipp Telemann
| 1681-1767Telemann's extremely rich compositional output, the fruits of three quarters of a century's work, encompasses almost all genres of music; in his vocal works it ranges from songs with basso continuo accompaniment to chamber and church cantatas, and to opera. In his own assessment, church music played a central role in his output; he alone probably composed over 1,600 church cantatas, as well as cantata-style funeral music settings (such as Du aber, Daniel, gehe hin), psalm settings (for example, Deus judicium tuum) and oratorios. Throughout his works Telemann showed himself to be a progressive composer, open to new trends and keen to experiment whilst exploring new directions; not without reason was he called a forerunner of classicism. However, his compositions constitute only a part of his importance to music history: as a music publisher, the author of publications for teaching, the director of middle-class music societies and initiator of public concerts, he made a considerable contribution to creating the preconditions for the support of the musically-educated middle classes in the ensuing era of music. Personal details
-
Editor
Klaus Hofmann
| 1939
-
Continuo realization
Klaus Hofmann
| 1939
-
Translator
Jean Lunn