Ave Maria (Meditation on 1st Prelude) for violin and piano by Johann Sebastian Bach and Charles Gounod
Edited by Gustav Saenger. Published by Carl Fischer
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a German composer of the Baroque period and widely considered one of the greatest composers in the Western canon. He carefully studied the work of his forebears and contemporaries, incorporating intricate counterpoint and harmonic innovations into a sophisticated style that represents the zenith of the Baroque tradition. Though he wrote predominantly religious music-including several passions and over 200 cantatas-he is most celebrated today for his profoundly moving instrumental music, including concertos, suites, and sonatas, including many for strings-such as his Cello Suites and Sonatas and Partitas for violin.
Bach's landmark keyboard work The Well-Tempered Clavier has an enduring legacy-such that French opera composer Charles Gounod drew from it for his setting of the Latin "Ave Maria" prayer, with the subtitle "Meditation on the 1st Prelude of J.S. Bach". His setting consists of a gentle, improvised melody superimposed on a mostly unchanged presentation of Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846. It has become an enduring piece in its own right, made all the more popular with arrangements for string instruments, like this one here, presenting the melody in a high register. Intermediate level, Grade 3.
