Ave Maria (Schubert)
Schubert's melody adapted as the Latin prayer 'Ave Maria'.
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Ave Maria (Schubert) is a musical work originally composed by Franz Schubert in 1825 as part of a song cycle based on Walter Scott's narrative poem The Lady of the Lake. Though originally a setting of a German translation of Scott's poem, its opening words 'Ave Maria' led to its widespread adaptation as a setting for the traditional Roman Catholic prayer, making it one of the most frequently performed and recognized melodies associated with that prayer.
Quick Facts
- Composer
- Franz Schubert
- Year composed
- 1825
- Opus
- Op. 52, No. 6
- Catalog number
- D. 839
- Original title
- Ellens dritter Gesang
- Source text
- Walter Scott's The Lady of the Lake (1810), German translation by Adam Storck
- Known for
- Commonly performed as 'Ave Maria' with Latin prayer text
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The piece was composed as a setting of a song from Walter Scott's popular narrative poem The Lady of the Lake, in a German translation by Adam Storck. In Scott's poem, the character Ellen Douglas sings a prayer addressed to the Virgin Mary, calling upon her for help. Schubert's setting is said to have first been performed at the castle of Countess Sophie Weissenwolff in the little Austrian town of Steyregg and dedicated to her, which led to her becoming known as 'the lady of the lake' herself.
Schubert composed the song as part of a selection of seven songs from Scott's poem, published in 1826 as his Opus 52. The songs were not intended for a single performer: the three songs of Ellen were for a woman's voice with piano accompaniment. The opening words and refrain of Ellen's song, namely 'Ave Maria', may have led to the idea of adapting Schubert's melody as a setting for the full text of the traditional Roman Catholic prayer. The Latin version is now so frequently used with Schubert's melody that it has led to the impression that he originally wrote the melody as a setting for the 'Ave Maria' prayer.
Reader's Guide
Schubert's 'Ellens dritter Gesang' holds significance as a work that transcended its original context. Though composed as part of a German-language song cycle from Walter Scott's poem, its opening words 'Ave Maria' prompted later adaptations that set the full Latin prayer to Schubert's melody. This adaptation became so widespread that many listeners assume Schubert originally composed the piece as a setting for the prayer. The work also gained cultural prominence through its use in Walt Disney's 1940 film Fantasia, where it was arranged by Leopold Stokowski for soprano and mixed chorus with string orchestra, blending with Modest Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain.
The version in Fantasia used English lyrics written by Rachel Field. Schubert's melody has also been arranged in three versions for piano by Franz Liszt. The piece's legacy lies in its dual identity: as a refined art song from a Romantic-era song cycle and as a universally recognized musical setting of a sacred prayer, demonstrating how a composition can acquire new meanings and functions beyond its original intention.
More in Iconic Songs & Compositions
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Ave Maria (Schubert) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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