Dixit and Magnificat in C

Vespers services were held at Salzburg Cathedral daily at 3 p.m. However, members of the court and the court musicians participated only in the vespers services during the highest festivals of the church year (“Festa pallii” and “Festa praepositi”). Psalm 109 (in the Latin Vulgate) and the Magnificat are constant parts of the vesper compositions, while the selection of four intermediate psalms varied depending on the feast day. At the vespers services before Pallium feasts, all respective psalms and the Magnificat were performed with orchestral accompaniment when the service was held by the Prince-Archbishop himself. Otherwise, only Dixit and Magnificat were played with orchestral accompaniment.

Litanies are prayers with petitions from the congregation or choir. In addition to the usual performances at vespers services on Saturdays and before Marian feasts, Litanies of the Blessed Virgin Mary (also known as Litanies of Loreto) have been celebrated in Salzburg since 1765 on the feast day of St. Nepomuk (May 16) and on the following days in the chapel of Mirabell Palace and in the Franciscan Church. Litanies of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus were sung in Salzburg Cathedral during the 40-hour prayer that was held from Palm Sunday to the Tuesday before Easter.

The Miserere (Psalm 50 in the Latin Vulgate) is one of the seven penitential psalms.