Magnificat

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The Visitation in the Book of Hours of the Duc of Berry

The Magnificat is a canticle frequently sung (or said) liturgically in Christian church services. Also known as the Song of Mary, it is taken from the words Mary is reported to have said to describe the experience of being pregnant with Jesus. Shortly after being informed by the archangel Gabriel of her holy pregnancy, according to the Biblical account, Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth the wife of Zechariah (herself pregnant at the time with John the Baptist); and in response to Elizabeth's salutation she spoke the words of the Magnificat, which accordingly appears in the Gospel of Luke, 1:46-55.

This canticle also appears in the Book of Odes which is a deuterocanonical book in the Greek Orthodox Church.

Text

Although like other New Testament texts the Magnificat was originally written in Greek, in the Western Church it is most often to be found in Latin or the vernacular. Its name comes from the first word of the Latin version (see incipit).

Greek:

Μεγαλύνει ἡ ψυχή μου τὸν Κύριον καὶ ἠγαλλίασε τὸ πνεῦμά μου ἐπὶ τῷ Θεῷ τῷ σωτῆρί μου,

ὅτι ἐπέβλεψεν ἐπὶ τὴν ταπείνωσιν τῆς δούλης αὐτοῦ. ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν μακαριοῦσί με πᾶσαι αἱ γενεαί.

ὅτι ἐποίησέ μοι μεγάλα ὁ δυνατός καὶ ἅγιον τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ εἰς γενεὰς γενεῶν τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτόν.

Ἐποίησε κράτος ἐν βραχίονι αὐτοῦ, διεσκόρπισεν ὑπερηφάνους διανοίᾳ καρδίας αὐτῶν·

καθεῖλε δυνάστας ἀπὸ θρόνων καὶ ὕψωσε ταπεινούς, πεινῶντας ἐνέπλησεν ἀγαθῶν καὶ πλουτοῦντας ἐξαπέστειλε κενούς.

ἀντελάβετο Ἰσραὴλ παιδὸς αὐτοῦ, μνησθῆναι ἐλέους, καθὼς ἐλάλησε πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν, τῷ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.

Latin (Vulgate):

Magnificat anima mea Dominum

Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo.

Quia respexit humilitatem ancillæ suæ: ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes.

Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est, et sanctum nomen eius.

Et misericordia eius a progenie in progenies timentibus eum.

Fecit potentiam in bracchio suo, dispersit superbos mente cordis sui.

Deposuit potentes de sede et exaltavit humiles.

Esurientes implevit bonis et divites dimisit inanes,

Suscepit Israel puerum suum recordatus misericordiæ suæ,

Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semini eius in sæcula.

English (Book of Common Prayer):

My soul doth magnify the Lord : and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

For he hath regarded : the lowliness of his handmaiden.

For behold, from henceforth : all generations shall call me blessed.

For he that is mighty hath magnified me : and holy is his name.

And his mercy is on them that fear him : throughout all generations.

He hath shewed strength with his arm : he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He hath put down the mighty from their seat : and hath exalted the humble and meek.

He hath filled the hungry with good things : and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel : as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed, for ever.

English (Common Worship):

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour;

he has looked with favour on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed;

the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his name.

He has mercy on those who fear him,

from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm

and has scattered the proud in their conceit,

Casting down the mighty from their thrones

and lifting up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things

and sent the rich away empty.

He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,

to remember his promise of mercy,

The promise made to our ancestors,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

English (New Revised Standard Version of the Bible):

My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,

for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.

Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for the Mighty One has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

His mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,

and lifted up the lowly;

he has filled the hungry with good things,

and sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

according to the promise he made to our ancestors,

to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.

Liturgical Use

The text forms a part of the daily office in the Catholic Vespers service and the Anglican services of Evening Prayer according to both the Book of Common Prayer (see Evensong) and Common Worship (see Evening Prayer). In the BCP service it is paired with the Nunc dimittis, and in both Anglican services it is generally followed by the Gloria Patri. (Modern Anglican rubrics generally allow for a wider selection of canticles at Evening Prayer; but the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis remain the most popular.) It has accordingly been a popular text for many composers.

Perhaps the best known Magnificats are that from Vespers of 1610 composed by Claudio Monteverdi, and that composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, BWV 243; and in the same vein many other "classical" composers (from Vivaldi to Rachmaninoff) have set extended versions for orchestra, chorus, and solos. However, these concerted settings were neither intended nor convenient for liturgical use; more often choirs will sing a shorter, simpler setting a capella or with only organ accompaniment. Several such settings from the Renaissance remain popular; and nearly every composer in the 19th and 20th century Anglican choral tradition has composed one or more settings of the "Mag and Nunc." Since these canticles are sung nearly every day at some Cathedrals and Oxbridge college chapels, there is a real need for multiple settings; at its extreme this led Herbert Howells, a noted composer of these canticles, to publish twenty settings of them over his career.

In Eastern Orthodox worship, the Magnificat is usually sung during the Sunday Matins service before the irmos of the ninth ode of the canon. After each verse the troparion is sung:

"More honorable than the Cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim, without corruption thou gavest birth to God the Word: true Theotokos, we magnify thee."

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