I was going to do another Magnificat, this one by Purcell, but I felt that after yesterday’s appalling contribution to Advent, a bit of penitence was in order.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d4b0dio3b0&w=560&h=315]I don’t repent of this music, though.  It’s wonderful – I haven’t heard it before (I was actually looking for a version of the Magnificat when I ran across it), and I love the way it builds from quiet sadness to this incredible, almost painful intensity at the end. It works both musically and on the level of a prayer, and I suspect it’s one of those pieces that *makes* you believe it while you are singing it.

Which is a lot to fit into two minutes of music.