Monthly Archives: May 2007

Magnificat

for Solo Soprano and Orchestra (2 Flutes and Strings)

My setting of the Magnificat is for solo soprano and orchestra (strings and flutes) and is in two movements.  I’ll admit my ignorance – I don’t know of any other settings of this text set for a solo soprano.  I must have sung a bazillion Anglican church anthems on this text, but they’re all for choir.  Anyhoo, it just made sense to me somehow.

I thought I was making a major mistake while writing this piece, because I kind of had a hybrid of several different lady sopranos’ voices in my head.  The incomparably versatile Laura Lynch came in and nailed it, thus proving me wrong (or right, as the case may be).

Addendum (2012): Years later, I finally made a piano reduction of this piece.  Here it is sung by the lovely Rebecca Johnson Lovering (who sang in the chorus of the original TKC recording):