IMSLP Forums

I've seen this both ways online and don't read German.
So which is the correct Title and verse spelling?
1) Meine Seel' erhebt den Herrn,
OR, 2) Meine Seele erhebet den Herren?
Please respond in English. Thanks!

The original titel is 1). The spelling 2) is a more modern german. It is always an open question if old texts should be modernized or not.

The apostrophe of Seel' suggests an elision into the "e" of erhebt, since Bach's rhythmic setting of the cantata's title words doesn't allow for an extra "e" to be enunciated. Changing Seel' to Seele would mean having to "fix" Bach's rhythm. Although such rhythmic maneuvering is often done when creating a singing operatic translation into an alternate language, I don't see how the original German text could be tweaked in this cantata without threatening Bach's conception.
Actually, the manuscript of this cantata on IMSLP shows no apostrophe, but rather simply "Seel", leading one to speculate that adding the apostrophe to represent
the missing "e" might have been a later linguistic development, or perhaps even a parallel convention. Or maybe Bach just couldn't be bothered in this particular setting. (He certainly was willing enough to use the full "Seele" in other compositions.)
And to make things interesting, note that Bach uses both "Herrn" and "Herren" in the opening choral statement: the latter in the long-noted soprano part, the former in the other, rhythmically active parts.

Thanks to all who have responded here or in private messages. All point to my No. 1 version being "correct" and implying the spelled out (also "correct") No. 2 version.