Franz Schubert - Ave Maria, D. 839

Ave Maria is a piece for voice and piano composed by Schubert in 1825. Originally written as part of his Op. 52, a setting of seven song from Walter Scott's epic poem The Lady of the Lake (loosely translated into German), the piece was called Ellens Gesang III, Op. 52, No. 6 (catalogued as D. 839). The fact that the opening lyrics are Ave Maria may have led Schubert to revise the text as a religious song, and in that form it became widely known. Nowadays it is commonly performed at wedding ceremonies. Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer. Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies (including the famous «Unfinished Symphony»), liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music. Appreciation of his music during his lifetime was limited, but interest in Schubert's work increased dramatically in the decades following his death at the age of 31. Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms and Felix Mendelssohn, among others, discovered and championed his works in the 19th Century. Today, Schubert is admired as one of the leading exponents of the early Romantic era in music and he remains one of the most frequently performed composers.