Magnificat (Torri)

Pietro Torri's Magnificat in C major, a setting of the biblical Canticle of Mary, the Magnificat, for double choir and orchestra likely dates from the 1690s. The work is scored for two SATB choirs, two trumpets, bassoon, strings and basso continuo. Its music opens with an instrumental introduction (sinfonia). Most of the composition's movements are either choral movements, in which all singers and instruments participate, or duets for two singers and a more limited instrumental accompaniment.

The Magnificat in C major, BWV Anh. 30, is Johann Sebastian Bach's arrangement of Torri's Magnificat. In Bach's version of the work, which originated around 1742, there are an additional trumpet and timpani. Both Torri's original and Bach's arrangement were recorded in the first decade of the 21st century. Shortly after the second of these recordings was released in 2012, it was discovered that BWV Anh. 30 was an arrangement of Torri's Magnificat. Before that, Bach's version had been attributed to various composers, including Antonio Lotti.