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Ave Maria
by Scot Crandal
Vocal Solo for High or Low Voice, Piano, and Optional Choir
PRINTED EDITIONS (PDFs)
Only one copy per singer is necessary. (You can print an extra copy for the accompanist and make copies of the final page of music for the choir.)
This setting of Ave Maria was composed for soprano, Jocelyn Claire Thomas. Outside of her busy performing schedule, Jocelyn sings at The Episcopal Parish of St. John the Baptist in Portland Oregon as part of its Musical Artists in Residence program. My goal was to create a setting that follows the feel of the text with a strong, arching melody supported by a harmonic progression that emanates both warmth and heroism. The optional choir part comes in at the end in unison followed by the word "Amen", voiced as desired. Enjoy!
–Scot
You can find out more about Jocelyn's career at her website: jocelynclairethomas.com
"Staggeringly brilliant...Thomas' ethereal soprano causing a tear or two more than once...truly magic in the air." –Jared Rasic, from The Source
Jocelyn Claire Thomas
first page of the high voice edition
ORIGINAL LATIN
Ave Maria, gratia plena,
Dominus tecum.
Benedicta tu in mulieribus,
et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae.
Amen.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee;
blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
BACKGROUND
The "Hail Mary", also commonly called the "Ave Maria" (Latin) or "Angelic Salutation", is a traditional Catholic prayer asking for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. In Roman Catholicism, the prayer forms the basis of the Rosary and the Angelus prayers. In the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, a similar prayer is used in formal liturgies, both in Greek and in translations. It is also used by many other groups within the Catholic tradition of Christianity including Anglicans, Independent Catholics, and Old Catholics. Some Protestant denominations, such as Lutherans, also make use of a form of the prayer.
The "Hail Mary", also commonly called the "Ave Maria" (Latin) or "Angelic Salutation", is a traditional Catholic prayer asking for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. In Roman Catholicism, the prayer forms the basis of the Rosary and the Angelus prayers. In the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, a similar prayer is used in formal liturgies, both in Greek and in translations. It is also used by many other groups within the Catholic tradition of Christianity including Anglicans, Independent Catholics, and Old Catholics. Some Protestant denominations, such as Lutherans, also make use of a form of the prayer.
The prayer incorporates two passages from Saint Luke's Gospel: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,"and "Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." The text also appears in the account of the annunciation contained in the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Matthew, in chapter 9.
The second passage is taken from Elizabeth's greeting to Mary in Luke 1:42, "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." Taken together, these two passages are the two times Mary is greeted in Chapter 1 of Luke.