NPR: "Magnificat"

At the conclusion of NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday report on the ASO lockout, the choral piece they aired was  J.S. Bach's "Magnificat"  by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under the direction of Robert Shaw. Shaw used to quote the first few lines every year during our "Christmas with Robert Shaw" concerts.

Note that the Magnificat expresses a strong judgment upon the proud, the powerful, and the wealthy who have lost track of what is important in life.
Bach knew that; Shaw did, too.

For those with eyes to see and ears to hear, this music is DIRECTLY APPLICABLE to the current American economic/cultural crisis of wealth and income disparity, and to this lockout of musicians by the ASO/WAC boards and management.

Here's the text from the Lutheran Service Book (2006):

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior;
For He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaiden.
For behold, from this day all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One has done great things to me, and holy is His name;
And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away.
He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.

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