J.S. Bach, Magnificat in E flat, for solo voices, chorus and orchestra, BWV 243a, first edition, Bonn: Simrock, 1811

BACH, JOHANN SEBASTIAN

Magnificat à Cinque Voci Due Violini, Due Oboe, tre Trombi, Tamburi, Basson, Viola e Basso Continuo, [BWV 243a, in E-flat major], Bonn: N. Simrock [1811]

FIRST EDITION, 53 pages, large 4to (c.34 x 26cm), full score, engraved throughout (plate no.770), A TALL COPY, uncut and untrimmed, generous margins, modern binding, slight dust-marking to title and deckle edges, [Hoboken 25; BWV 243a (page 404); RISM B 435]

The Magnificat in E-flat major was the first of Bach's large-scale works for Leipzig, composed for Christmas 1723. This full score was edited by the Bach scholar Georg Pölchau, and retains both the original key and the solo trumpet part for no.10 'Suscepit Israel'. Some time during the 1730s, Bach transposed the Magnificat down to D major, replacing the solo trumpet with two oboes and deleting four interpolated "Christmas" movements (which are also excluded here).