Canticles (from the Latin canticum, song) are biblical poems with powerful imagery and heightened emotional content. They are similar to psalms but are taken from other books of the Bible. Canticles formed the backbone of the daily office and have often been set to music. Indeed, they are among the richest repertoires in all of music.
Canticles are divided into two groups. The three “greater” or gospel canticles are all taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke. They are the Magnificat anima mea Dominum, also called the Canticle of the Blessed Mary; the Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel, also called the Canticle of Zachariah; and the Nunc Dimittis, also called the Canticle of Simeon. (Canticles are still customarily referred to by their traditional Latin titles even when the texts are given in English.) In the Roman monastic hours these formed the climax of Vespers, Lauds, and Compline, respectively. In liturgical denominations today they may be found in Morning and Evening Prayer. The fourteen so-called “lesser canticles,” such as the Jubilate and the Benedicite, omnia opera Domine are taken from the Old Testament and the Apocrypha. In the Roman church these were sung at Lauds, one set of seven reserved for the weekdays through the greater part of the year, a second set of seven to be substituted during Lent. The Anglican and Lutheran usage has assigned most of the lesser canticles to Morning Prayer. While any canticle may be sung at Evensong or Vespers, the Canticles of Mary and of Simeon are usually reserved for evening. Nowadays other traditional songs of praise, such as the Gloria in excelsis with its biblical textual elements, or texts from the Orthodox liturgy may be included among the canticles.
Musical settings of the canticles range from simple formulaic music such as plainsong or Anglican chant (indeed, the same music as for the psalms is suitable) to compositions of considerable length and complexity, many accompanied only by organ, still others by orchestra. Among the largest and best-known examples of the latter are the two related settings of the Magnificat by J. S. Bach using the Latin text. There are countless other settings from all periods and in all styles. When sung to simpler settings an antiphon is often used. This is an appropriate and relevant text set to contrasting music that frames the verses of the canticle.
From the sixteenth century on, canticles have often been composed in a complete set (sometimes with the music required for the Holy Eucharist) called a service. (In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries a “short service” was one which was briefer and in a syllabic style while a “great service” was more extended, richer, and more contrapuntal. An evening service consists of musical settings of the Magnificat and the Nunc Dimittis. A complete service includes most of the items required for an entire day. Often all of these are in the same key, and the service is, for example, commonly referred to as “Stanford in C.” In the twentieth century, especially in the United States, it has been more usual to compose single canticles rather than complete services. Composers of our century have tended to produce musical settings of canticles which are rather extended and suitable for festivals, often with the accompaniment of a very large orchestra. Benjamin Britten’s Te Deum and William Walton’s Coronation Te Deum are typical.
Canticles are among the most appropriate texts for the worship service even when there is no prescribed order. Since, traditionally, canticles follow Scripture readings, it is particularly effective to accompany a reading from the Old Testament with the singing of one of the lesser canticles, and a New Testament text with a gospel canticle.
Perhaps it is worth adding that the Song of Solomon or Song of Songs is sometimes called the Book of Canticles. Historically, it was an important source of texts for musical settings, most notably motets from the later middle ages and the Renaissance.
Canticles form a truly substantive repertoire of service music of great variety, power, and beauty.