Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod)

< Ave Maria (Bach
Ave Maria
Art song by Bach/Gounod
Native nameMéditation sur le Premier Prélude de Piano de S. Bach
KeyC major
TextAve Maria
LanguageLatin
Based onBach's Prelude No. 1, BWV 846
Published
  • 1853 (1853) (French text)
  • 1859 (1859) (Latin text)
Scoring
  • voice
  • piano

"Ave Maria" is a setting of the Latin prayer Ave Maria, originally published in 1853 as "Méditation sur le 1er prélude de piano de S. Bach". The piece consists of a melody by the French Romantic composer Charles Gounod that he superimposed over an only very slightly changed version of Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C major, BWV 846, from Book I of his The Well-Tempered Clavier, 1722. The 1853 publication has French text, but it is the 1859 version with the Latin "Ave Maria" which became popular.