Last week I wrote about a Christmas motet composed by Hyde Park composer Jerome Ramsfield. This week I’d like to write about another unusual addition to the Advent/Christmas repertoire Chorale will perform on our holiday concerts in December.
The Magnificat, or Canticle of Mary, is one of the most important texts in the Christian liturgy. Sung regularly throughout the liturgical year, mostly at Vespers, it is especially featured during Advent. The text, taken from the Gospel of Luke (1:46–55), is spoken by Mary upon the occasion of her visit to her cousin Elizabeth. In the narrative, after Mary greets Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist, the latter moves within Elizabeth's womb. Elizabeth praises Mary for her faith, and Mary responds with what is now known as the Magnificat:
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name…
This text has frequently been set to music. Most compositions are intended for liturgical use, especially for Vesper services and celebrations of the Visitation, but some are also performed in concert. I considered a large number of settings when choosing repertoire for our holiday concerts, one of them a recent a cappella setting (2018) by Icelandic composer Sigurður Sævarsson (b. 1963). Chorale sang an Advent piece last year by another Icelandic composer, Þorkell Sigurbjørnsson, which the choir and I really enjoyed, so I gave this one a closer look, and ended up programming it.
Saevarrson’s style is greatly influenced by the spiritual minimalism which has dominated northern European choral composition for the past several decades. Magnificat’s characteristic ostinato texture, with subtle harmonic and rhythmic shifts over the course of the composition, is delicate and mesmerizing, well-suited to the scene he paints. Like all music of this genre, it demands intense concentration and exactitude from the singers, to create an aural image of great simplicity.
Saevarsson studied singing and composition in his native Iceland before enrolling at Boston University, where he was awarded degrees in both disciplines. His principle compositional focus has been opera and choral music, both a cappella and accompanied, and he is clearly gaining a following in the world-wide choral community, judging from the number of performances and recordings in which his music is featured.
I found an interview with Saevarsson online, in which he responds to a comment about the “great spaciousness” in his writing, “Maybe one explanation for this ‘spaciousness’ in my music is the all-encompassing Icelandic nature. Iceland has few and small wooded areas or forests. As one journeys through Iceland, there are views as far as the eye can see. I find it delightful to stand and look out to sea, the distant, majestic mountains, or else study the mosses and tiny flowers. Most of my choral works are written with the acoustics of a large church in mind, where each note can weave around the next, creating a gentle, fine web around the soul.”
Saevarsson’s Magnificat has a unique texture and impact, one I have not previously encountered in settings of this text. I look forward to introducing our audience to this worthy addition to our repertoire.