Meine Seele erhebt den Herrn SWV 494a

The Deutsches Magnificat SWV 494 from the Schwanengesang by Heinrich Schütz is one of the composer’s most popular works. It survives both within the Opus ultimum, but is the only work in the Schwanengesang to also survive separately – in a different version, evidently composed earlier (SWV 494a). The two versions clearly differ, particularly in the final section; Schütz did not compose a new version, but combined the existing musical components in a new and different way. In contrast with the version in the Schwanengesang, the earlier version survives complete and did not have to be reconstructed.