by a descending line, alternating the rhythm, one measure in 3/4, one 6/8, and alternating the women's voices in sequences. A short recapitulation of marks the end of the second verse. The beginning of the third verse, (For he hath regarded the low estate [of his handmaiden]), is rendered even simpler: the sequences are repeated in even rhythm, then broadened and coloured by parallel triads. The continuation, (for, behold, [from henceforth … shall call me blessed]), builds in similar fashion, with all parts divided, to the climax of the first movement on the word ("blessed" or "happy"), marked "f dolce". The text (all generations) is again given in sequences of descending lines, now alternating one measure of 6/8 and one of 4/4. While the bass sings the line first, the tenor adds a sequence of sustained notes rising step by step one fifth. In Bach's treatment of the same text, each entry of a fugue theme is one step, covering an octave in measures 15 to 20 of . A repeat of the text and the motifs of verse 1 concludes the movement, ending on , without retard, with accents on each syllable and cut short. 2 Rutter inserted an anonymous English poem from the 15th century, Of a Rose, a lovely Rose, as the second movement. Marked "Tranquil and flowing", it imitates chant singing, with flexible times and in Doric mode. The poet imagines Jesus as a rose springing from Mary, comparable to "". She is seen as a rose bush with five branches: the Annunciation, the Star of Bethlehem, the three Kings, the fall of the devil's power, and heaven. The last stanza asks Mary to “shield us from the fiendes bond”. The eight stanzas, in four lines of which three rhyme, are set as variations of an old tune. The short refrain is first sung by the soprano alone, immediately repeated by soprano, alto and tenor, the voices in unison but for triads on "lovely". It is repeated after the first stanza by soprano and tenor in unison. After the fourth stanza, it appears again, now in three different parts, and a last time before the final prayer, again slightly different. The first stanza ("... this rose began to spring ...") is sung by the bass, the second ("... out of her bosom ...") by the alto, the third ("... an angel from heaven's tower ...") by