Magnificat!

This Winter, Philomusica presents Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis settings by Francesco Durante and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, which exhibit two intriguingly disparate approaches to the traditional Christian liturgy, both musically and in terms of historical era and demographic background of each composer. We are delighted to pair these works with songs of holiday praise and celebration from different faiths and cultures.

The Magnificat, also known as the Canticle of Mary, has played an important role in liturgies of all Christian churches for many years. Due to its liturgical significance across different sects of Christianity, Eastern, Western, Protestant, and more, composers have been inspired to set the text polyphonically since the fifteenth century. In mid-eighteenth century Baroque-era Italy, Francesco Durante composed his Magnificat in B-Flat Major for vocal soloists, chorus, strings, and basso continuo. In the past, this work had been misattributed to Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, who had been a pupil of Durante’s. Unlike other Neapolitan composers of the time who focused on production of operatic repertoire, Durante was focused on the composition of church music. His Magnificat fits the traditional Catholic liturgy of the time, is in Latin, and is based on the first Gregorian chant tone, which Durante employs as a cantus firmus in the work. In the opening movement, Magnificat, the sopranos first present the original Gregorian chant melody, after which the melody is traded between voice parts and decorated with ornamentation and melismas. The second movement, Et misericordia, features a tender duet between soprano and alto soloists, which is suddenly interrupted by the chorus’ declaration, “Fecit potentiam” (he has shown strength). The third movement, Deposuit potentes, features a passionate theme that begins in the alto section, and gradually makes its way to each voice part. Suscepit Israel, the fourth section, features a duet between tenor and bass soloists who describe the Lord’s help to Israel. In the fifth section, the full choir returns with a call-and-response texture to express the eternity of the Lord’s words. In the final movement, the entire Magnificat comes full circle as the chant melody from the first movement is reintroduced. Voice parts begin to overlap more frequently, textures become more dense, and excitement grows on the text, “Et in saecula saeculorum, Amen” (And forever and ever, Amen).

At the turn of the twentieth century, British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor wrote his Morning & Evening Service in F for choir and organ. Coleridge-Taylor sets the Magnificat (Song of Mary) and the Nunc Dimittis (Song of Simeon) in the Anglican tradition, in English, where liturgically they might be performed as part of an Evensong service. The work reflects his musical style, full of melodic expressivity and rich harmonies. One can also hear echoes of the style of his teacher, Charles Villiers Stanford. Coleridge-Taylor was highly respected throughout his short life (he died at the age of 37!). A successful composer, conductor, and professor, he was also known for his incorporation of African musical elements into his works, using rhythms, call-and-response techniques, and more that celebrated his African heritage.

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The first piece of our second half is Hanukkah song S’vivon, arranged by Seattle-based composer Valerie Shields. Shields creates a joyous arrangement of the traditional Jewish folksong about the Hanukkah game of dreidel, complete with piano and violin parts. The choir begins in unison, all singing the same melody together. They then break into separate groups, the higher voices moving to a lively descant part.

Ken Berg completed this arrangement of traditional Spanish carol Los Peces en el Rio just recently, in 2024. The carol describes the story of the Nativity, of Jesus’ birth. Mary combs her hair and the fish in the river eagerly await the birth of Christ. This arrangement, set to a gentle rhumba, features an exciting vocalization of Latin percussion sounds and expressive vocal solos on the original Spanish text.

The beloved Christmas piece Carol of the Bells was composed by Ukrainian musician Mykola Leontovych in 1914. The lyrics were written by Peter J. Wilhousky. The carol is widely recognized for its central motif of four pitches, in this arrangement, sung first on the text “Hark! how the bells.” Singers imitate bells, voices rising and falling in pitch and volume, to create an atmosphere of whimsical holiday spirit.

Composer and vocalist Zanaida Robles composed Umoja in 2005. “Umoja” means “unity” in Swahili and is the first principle of Kwanzaa. Robles’ setting features a soothing melody, first sung by a soloist, then sung by one section of voices, then two sections, then all four sections of the choir. The sections sing the melody in canon and eventually devolve into full aleatory, each individual singer performing the melody at their own pace, then uniting on a unison pitch. The soloist ends the piece with a final peaceful iteration of the melody.

In Oberndorf, Austria on December 24, 1818, Franz Gruber composed the music for Christmas carol Silent Night at the request of the assistant priest at St. Nikolaus, Josef Mohr, who had written the text a few years earlier. The carol was titled Stille Nacht in its original German and was first sung the very night it was written, probably at the midnight mass. The hymn remains a favorite in church contexts and otherwise to this day.

English composer, choral conductor, and organist David Willcocks first crafted his famous arrangement of O Come, All Ye Faithful in 1961. The first verses begin with the traditional harmonization from the English Hymnal, but Willcocks expands the hymn by adding his own harmonies in the later verses. His verse six will function as our verse three, with the choir singing the melody in unison and the sopranos singing their angelic descant. Willcocks’ final verse seven will function as our final verse four, a powerful ending featuring many non-diatonic pitches in the organ part including the famous “Willcocks chord”!