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Ave Maria

Iconic image of the Virgin Mary associated with the Ave Maria prayer.
A devotional depiction of the Virgin Mary, reflecting the spiritual essence of the Ave Maria prayer.

Ave Maria is one of the most enduring and widely set prayers in Western sacred music. Addressed to the Virgin Mary, it consists of two distinct textual parts. The first part derives directly from the Gospel—specifically Luke 1:28 and 1:42—while the second part (“Sancta Maria, Mater Dei…”) was added during the 13th century. Because of this later textual completion, the full prayer entered musical settings relatively late in history.

The text proved especially inspiring to the great composers of Renaissance polyphony. During the 16th century, Ave Maria became a favored vehicle for expressive counterpoint and spiritual intensity. Masters such as Josquin des Prez, Orlando di Lasso, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, and Claudio Monteverdi were drawn to its devotional character, producing settings of remarkable clarity, balance, and emotional restraint.

After a long tradition within sacred vocal polyphony, Ave Maria experienced a renewed prominence in the 19th century. A decisive moment came in 1825, when Franz Schubert composed his famous Ave Maria. Although originally written as a song (Ellens Gesang III from The Lady of the Lake), its association with the Latin prayer soon became inseparable, securing its place as one of the most beloved sacred melodies ever written.

Equally significant is the Ave Maria by Charles Gounod, composed by placing a newly written melody over the harmonic framework of the Prelude in C Major from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. This synthesis of Baroque structure and Romantic lyricism exemplifies the prayer’s ability to transcend stylistic boundaries.

Across centuries, styles, and compositional techniques, Ave Maria has remained a symbol of musical devotion—its text offering composers a space for contemplation, purity of line, and spiritual resonance.



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