Heinrich Schütz composed four extant settings of the Magnificat or Song of Mary, one of the three New Testament canticles.

They are settings of Martin Luther's German Magnificat, Meine Seele erhebt den Herren (My soul magnifies the Lord).

As Johan van Vee points out, "there is general agreement that in those of his works which are strongly rooted in the tradition of counterpoint instruments can or should be used to support the voices".

[3] Schütz composed Meine Seele erhebt den Herren, SWV 344, in 1643 as part of Symphoniae sacrae II for soprano, two unspecified instruments and basso continuo.

[4] Schütz composed Meine Seele erhebt den Herren, SWV 426 for four-part choir and basso continuo.

[5] It was published in 1657 by Christoph Kittel as part of the collection Zwölf geistliche Gesänge (Twelve sacred songs), intended for "Gottes Ehren und Christlichen nützlichen Gebrauch / in Kirchen und Schulen" (God's honours and Christian use in churches and schools).

[8] Schütz composed Meine Seele erhebt den Herren, SWV 494, in 1669 for two four-part choirs, instruments and basso continuo.

[14] Schütz dedicated the work to Johann Georg II of Saxony, but it was possibly not performed in his presence.

[8] The organ part was found in the mid 1970s and made an edition with a reconstruction of the two missing voices possible.