It's been 15 years since C. P. E. Bach was last featured as a Classical Clip, and over 12 years since we've had a Magnificat setting, so this month we'll have both. C. P. E.'s father's setting of the Magnificat text is probably the most famous one of all, and, as (correctly) mentioned in this disc's notes, is likely Sebastian's most-performed choral work. But C. P. E.'s setting served as his own type of calling card, and it is a glorious and gigantic work. In terms of its dimensions, as a point of comparison note that Vivaldi's setting (click link above) runs about 15 minutes, Christian Bach's about 11 minutes, and Sebastian's about 25 minutes; Carl Phillip Emanuel's runs about 40 minutes.

It is not just the length, of course, which is impressive about the setting. The entire work is at turns ebullient, reflective, sombre, and exciting, and it is enchanting through and through. Written in 1749, C. P. E. revised the work a full thirty years later, in 1779, beefing up the instrumentation and composing a new "Et misericordia." The current recording, a beautiful rendering by Arcangelo, uses the revised version, but keeps the haunting 1749 "Et misericordia," which forms a type of centerpiece for the setting. It is this movement which I've supplied for this month's clip (compare with Vivaldi's setting, whose "Et misericordia" was also sampled for his CCM).