| Ave Maria | |
|---|---|
| Motet by Anton Bruckner | |
 | |
| Key | F major |
| Catalogue | WAB 7 |
| Form | Marian hymn |
| Text | Ave Maria |
| Language | Latin |
| Composed | 5 February 1882: Vienna |
| Dedication | Luise Hochleitner |
| Performed | 5 February 1903: Vienna |
| Published | 1902: Stuttgart |
| Vocal | Alto soloist |
| Instrumental | Organ, piano or harmonium |
Ave Maria (Hail Mary), WAB 7, is a setting of the Latin prayer Ave Maria by Anton Bruckner.
When staying in Wels during the summer of 1881 Bruckner met Luise Hochleitner, a singer with a beautiful alto voice.[1] Bruckner promised to dedicate to her an Ave Maria. The work, which was composed on 5 February 1882, —almost 20 years after his more famous motet— is for alto (or baritone) solo voice and keyboard (organ, piano or harmonium).[2]
The original manuscript is lost, but there are fair copies of it at the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek and the Abbey of Kremsmünster.[3] The work was published in 1902 as an appendix to No. 13 of the Neue Musikzeitung, Stuttgart.[4] The first public performance occurred during a concert of the Wiener Akademischer Wagner-Verein on 5 February 1903 by Gisella Seehofer, who then also premiered Bruckner's Wie bist du, Frühling, gut und treu and Im April.[5] The motet is put in Band XXI/29 of the Gesamtausgabe.[6]
The 81-bar demanding work, scored in F major, requires a singer with a two-octave broad tessitura.
Like the two earlier settings of Ave Maria, the name Jesus is sung thrice (bars 23–31).[4] It is followed by an instrumental interlude (bars 32–38) and goes then on with the second part (Sancta Maria), which quotes the 20-year earlier setting.[4] Thereafter (bars 53–58) Nunc et in hora mortis nostrae is sung pianissimo in unison. After a repeat of Sancta Maria, it is ending by a two-octave descending arpeggio on Amen (from F5 to F3) and a short instrumental postlude (bars 76–81).
The first recording was:
In the majority of the about 20 recordings the singer is skipping the lower octave of the Amen. A selection among the few recordings, in which the singer is doing it faithfully:
