C. P. E. Bach set the text in the same key as the later version, formally as a cantata, in 1749 in Berlin,[2] where he was a harpsichordist at the court of Frederick the Great.

[6] John Butt notes that the Amen fugue of the Magnificat shows similarities to parts of the Mass in B minor, the Gratias from the Missa and the Ex expecto from the Symbolum Nicenum.

The concert began with the Credo from his father's Mass in B minor, followed by two excerpts from Handel's Messiah, the Hallelujah Chorus and the aria I know that my redeemer liveth, both sung in German.

[8] Bach scored the work in D major for four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B)), a SATB four-part choir, and a Baroque orchestra of two traverse flutes (Ft), two oboes (Ob), two horns (Co), bassoon (Fg), two violins (Vl), viola (Va) and basso continuo (Bc), with three trumpets and timpani ad libitum.

The following table shows the title, voices, tempo marking, time, key and text source for the nine movements, based on the vocal score, edited by Günter Graulich after the autograph.