Magnificat C-Dur

Kuhnau’s Magnificat in C major is – apart from his Biblical Sonatas – considered to be his most ambitious and best known work. However, as recent research has revealed, there are indeed many other large-scale works among his oeuvre which are largely presumed lost today, apart from those that were published as first editions. Until now, only insufficient or erroneous editions of the Magnificat have been available, a piano reduction has not been available at all.

Beyond that, editor David Erler has succeeded in tracking down the Laudes (insertion movements for performances over Christmas), now being published for the first time ever in this edition. He was able to prove that Bach’s Magnificat directly succeeded Kuhnau’s work and that the Laudes were commonly used in Leipzig’s parish churches at the time. With this Urtext edition, we not only close a significant gap in terms of the practical use of this work but we also offer an authenticated musical text of Kuhnau’s masterpiece for the first time.