Magnificat in D

Soli SA, Coro SATB, 2 Ob, Fg, 2 Vl, 2 Va, Bc; 2 Tr, Timp ad lib.

The Bohemian composer Jan Dismas Zelenka was a double bass player and church music composer at the Saxon court of the Elector August the Strong and his son Friedrich August II. In the years after 1721 he composed an extensive repertoire of Catholic church music together with the Kapellmeister Johann David Heinichen. These works, together with the Dresden operas composed by Johann Adolf Hasse in quick succession from 1731 onwards, established the reputation of the Saxon court as one of the most important musical centers of the late Baroque period.

The two Magnificat settings (C major, ZWV 107; D major, ZWV 108) are amongst well over 30 psalm and Magnificat settings by Zelenka for Vespers services in Dresden. In contrast to the work in C major, where a soprano solo dominates over long passages, the choir has a more prominent part in this Magnificat in D major. Zelenka also heightened the festive character of the work by later adding parts for 2 trumpets and timpani. Authentic performances of the work are therefore possible with and without trumpets.