Magnificat
Magnificat (Lat.). Canticle of the Virgin Mary (‘My soul doth magnify the Lord’) as it appears in St Luke's Gospel. The Lat. name is first word of Vulgate trans. (Magnificat anima mea Dominum). Part of RC Vespers and of Anglican Evensong (where mus. setting is followed by Nunc Dimittis). Sung to plainchant in RC service and to Anglican chant in latter, but there are many comp. settings for church and concert perf., e.g. by Dunstable, Du Fay, Lassus, Palestrina, Monteverdi, Bach, Schütz, and Vaughan Williams.
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Magnificat
