Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788), like his father Johann Sebastian before him, wrote a Magnificat that is considered his choral masterpiece. Composed in 1749, it was his first major choral work. The words of praise to the Virgin Mary are set with an exciting energy, and the work's impact comes from its operatic arias and powerful choruses.
The Magnificat was a regular part of Sunday services in Leipzig, where Carl Philipp Emanuel grew up, sung in German on ordinary Sundays and in Latin on high holidays and Marian feasts. When his father Johan Sebastian's Magnificat was performed in 1723, Carl Philipp Emanuel was nine years old. In 1749, Carl Philipp Emanuel set the text in the same key (D) as his father's and performed it as a cantata in Berlin while serving as harpsichordist at the court of Frederick the Great.
The following anecdote has been recorded about the genesis of the work. In June 1749, while Johann Sebastian Bach was still alive, the City Council of Leipzig was considering a possible successor to the gravely ill Thomaskantor and commissioned Johann Gottlob Harrer, Kapellmeister to the Count of Brühl in Dresden, to compose "test music". Bach suggested to his two highly talented sons, Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel, that they also try to succeed him. While Carl Philipp Emanuel set the Magnificat, Wilhelm Friedemann wrote an Advent cantata. Neither son was successful, however, and Harrer was eventually offered the position of Thomaskantor.
The Magnificat is a fairly large composition, divided into nine sections, requiring SATB soloists and chorus, and a substantial orchestra. The choir is only involved in four of the movements, but has a significant role in those sections. Carl Philipp Emanuel's style is modern and represents a departure from his father's style, with the exception of the concluding double fugue. During his time in Hamburg, he added trumpets and timpani and even placed the work next to his father's B Minor Mass in a concert in 1779. Throughout the 18th century, however, listeners outside Hamburg were almost exclusively familiar with the original version, in which the work was known throughout Europe in numerous copies.
Listen to: Nederlandse Bachvereniging conducted by Shunske Sato (violin)
Choral Masterworks
Bach Cantata Index