Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod)

Lore & Background

The piece is a fusion of two distinct musical elements: a melody improvised by the French Romantic composer Charles Gounod, superimposed over a slightly altered version of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Prelude No. 1 in C major, BWV 846, from Book I of *The Well-Tempered Clavier* (1722). Gounod’s melody was first transcribed by his future father-in-law, Pierre-Joseph-Guillaume Zimmerman, who arranged it for violin (or cello) with piano and harmonium in 1853. That same year, it was published with words from Alphonse de Lamartine’s poem “Le livre de la vie.” The familiar Latin text of the “Ave Maria” prayer was added in a version published by Jacques-Léopold Heugel in 1859, which became the widely popular form. The Bach prelude used by Gounod includes a so-called “Schwencke measure” (m. 23), an inserted bar attributed to Christian Friedrich Gottlieb Schwencke, who added it to correct what was mistakenly thought to be a faulty harmonic progression, though such progressions were standard in Bach’s music. Gounod’s composition uses the prelude’s broken-chord harmony as a foundation, repeating the first four measures as a prelude before the voice enters. The inserted Schwencke measure is marked by the voice with a repeated, expressive “Maria!” The piece is marked *Moderato* and includes pedal and dynamic markings for the pianist. Alongside Schubert’s “Ave Maria,” this version has become a fixture at funerals, weddings, and quinceañeras. It has been recorded in numerous instrumental arrangements—for violin and guitar, string quartet, piano solo, cello, and trombone—and by many opera singers, including Nellie Melba, Franco Corelli, and Luciano Pavarotti, as well as by choirs. Notable recordings include one by the castrato Alessandro Moreschi in the early 1900s, and a rendition by Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin used as the main theme for the 2017 Palme d’Or-winning film *The Square*. The piece also recurs as a theme in Disney’s *A Christmas Carol* (2009). Later in his career, Gounod composed an unrelated setting of “Ave Maria” for four-part SATB choir.

Reader's Guide

The Bach/Gounod "Ave Maria" originated in 1853 when Charles Gounod improvised a melody over the Prelude No. 1 in C major from Bach’s *The Well-Tempered Clavier*. Gounod’s future father-in-law transcribed the improvisation and first arranged it for violin or cello with piano and harmonium. The piece initially appeared with words from a poem by Alphonse de Lamartine, but the familiar Latin prayer text was added in a version published in 1859, which became the standard. Gounod’s melody is superimposed onto Bach’s prelude, a study in broken-chord harmony, with the first four measures repeated for the voice’s entry. The version of Bach’s prelude used includes an extra measure inserted after the original twenty-second bar, known as the Schwencke measure, which was common at the time; to this measure, the voice sings a repeated, expressive “Maria!” Gounod added tempo, pedal, and dynamic markings. The piece has been recorded hundreds of times by opera singers like Nellie Melba, Franco Corelli, and Luciano Pavarotti, as well as by choirs. Notable recordings include one by castrato Alessandro Moreschi in the early 1900s, and a rendition by Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin used as the main theme for the 2017 film *The Square*. It also appears as a recurring theme in Disney’s *A Christmas Carol* (2009). Later, Gounod composed a separate, unrelated setting of the Ave Maria for four-part choir.

Did You Know?

• Alessandro Moreschi, one of the last castrato singers, performed 'Ave Maria' on recordings in the early 1900s.