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Magnificat

“My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

New York Virtuoso Singers, Harold Rosenbaum, director, May 5, 2000,
Catholic Center at NYU

Magnificat, for unaccompanied choir, was written for the New York Virtuoso Singers in 2000. It is dedicated to the loving memory of my great-aunt Dorothy McMullin, Sister of Mercy (1904-1999), whose love of God, joy in life, kindness and good humor inspired all who knew her.

Magnificat anima mea Dominum.
Et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo.
Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae:
ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes.
Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est: et sanctum nomen ejus.
Et misericordia ejus a progenie in progenies timentibus eum.
Fecit potentiam in brachio suo: dispersit superbos mente cordis sui.
Deposuit potentes de sede, et exaltavit humiles.
Esurientes implevit bonis: et divites dimisit inanes.
Suscepit Israel puerum suum, recordatus misericordiae suae.
Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semini ejus in saecula.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum.
Amen.

My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.
Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen.

Premiered by the New York Virtuoso Singers (Harold Rosenbaum, director) May 5, 2000 in New York.
Performed by the Taipei Chamber Singers (Yun-Hung Chen, director) at ISCM-ACL World Music Days festival in Hong Kong, November 24, 2007.