Magnificat (Schütz)
Heinrich Schütz composed four extant settings of the Magnificat or Song of Mary, one of the three New Testament canticles. He set one in Latin and three in German. In the Schütz-Werke-Verzeichnis (SWV), the compositions have the numbers 344, 426, 468 (in Latin) and 494. The settings on the German text are all part of larger groups of works. They are settings of Martin Luther's German Magnificat, Meine Seele erhebt den Herren (My soul magnifies the Lord). Schütz wrote the compositions for different forces and occasions.
Magnificat
The Magnificat or Song of Mary is one of the three New Testament canticles, the others being Nunc dimittis and Benedictus. Mary sings the song on the occasion of her visit to Elizabeth, as narrated in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:39–56). Magnificat, a regular part in Catholic vesper services, was also used in the Lutheran church, in vespers and for Marian feasts.
Schütz set the Magnificat text once in Latin and five times in German, Meine Seele erhebt den Herren (My soul magnifies the Lord), also called German Magnificat. Schütz composed them at different times for different forces, occasions and purpose. Some belong in the context of a larger collection. Two of the settings in German are lost.
SWV
Sisters With Voices, better known as SWV, is an American female R&B, Grammy nominated trio from New York City. Formed in 1990 as a gospel group, SWV became one of the most successful R&B groups of the 1990s. They had a series of hits, including "Weak", "Right Here/Human Nature", "I'm So into You", and "You're the One". The group disbanded in 1998 to pursue solo projects, and reunited in 2005. As of 2015, they have sold more than 25 million records, making them one of the best selling girl groups of all time.
Biography
Early life and big break
SWV (an abbreviation for Sisters With Voices) was formed by Cheryl "Coko" Gamble, Tamara "Taj" Johnson and Leanne "Lelee" Lyons (with Lelee and Coko as founding members). After getting their demo together, the trio sent out demo tapes along with bottles of Perrier ("We couldn't afford champagne", says Taj) to catch the attention of record execs all over America. In 1991, after being invited to sing live in front of RCA executives, SWV was signed to an eight album record deal.
List of compositions by Heinrich Schütz
There are almost 500 known compositions by Heinrich Schütz. Listed here are most of his compositions in the order of the SWV (Schütz-Werke-Verzeichnis) catalog.
Choral works
Italian Madrigals
Opus 1: Venice (1611) 5 voices
