First Performance of BWV 10

Date: July 2, 1724 • Location: Berlin, Germany

On the Feast of the Visitation, Bach led the first performance of his Meine Seel erhebt den Herren, BWV 10, based on the German Magnificat.

In Christianity, the Visitation, also known as the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, refers to the visit of Mary, who was pregnant with Jesus, to Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist, in the Gospel of Luke, Luke 1:39–56. The episode is one of the standard scenes shown in cycles of the Life of the Virgin in art, and sometimes in larger cycles of the Life of Christ in art.