Ave Maria (C Major)

Gounod, Charles-François (1818-1893)

Gounod's Ave Maria in C Major for alto voice (Difficult)! ♥

Pdf sheet music download for Alto voice and piano

This sheet music is available for :

Includes : One score (4 pages)

Difficulty level : Grade 9/12

Details     Listen     You Tube     Lyrics

Program Notes on Ave Maria (C Major) by Gounod :

In 1852, Gounod improvised a melody over Bach's Prelude in C from the Well-Tempered Clavier (written in 1722) which his future father-in-law, pianist Pierre-Joseph Zimmerman, wrote down and arranged for violin and small choir, a fifth above.

That same year, Gounod set his melody to the text Vers sur un album by Alphonse de Lamartine and had it published by L. Mayaud et Cie.

In 1853, a first instrumental version was published for violin (or cello) and piano under the title Méditation sur le 1er Prélude de piano de S. Bach.

In 1859, the melody was set to the Ave Maria prayer in Latin and was published in Paris by Heugel under the title Mélodie religieuse adaptée au 1er prélude de J.S. Bach. It was first performed in Paris on May 24, 1859 by the famous Mme Caroline Miolan-Carvalho, who also created the soprano roles in Gounod's operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.

Please note that there are slight differences between the vocal and instrumental versions :

The titles are different : the vocal version is entitled Mélodie religieuse adaptée au 1er prélude de J.S. Bach, while the instrumental version is entitled Méditation sur le 1er Prélude de piano de S. Bach

The melody is played twice in the instrumental version but only once in the vocal version

The tempo marking is Andante semplice in the instrumental version and Andante con moto in the vocal version

There are slight differences in note values : for instance, measure 6 contains a whole note in the instrumental version, but a dotted half-note, a rest and an eight-note in the vocal version

The notes in the last four measures are different, and the vocal version contains a supplementary tremolo measure

This sheet music is an arrangement of Gounod's Ave Maria for alto voice and piano in the key of C Major.

It is based on the original sheet music edition of this Ave Maria which was first published in 1859.

Gounod entitled this arrangement for voice Mélodie religieuse adaptée au premier Prélude de J.S. Bach [Sacred melody adapted to the first Prelude of J.S. Bach].

This score includes the words in Latin (one verse).

Please note that Gounod's Ave Maria is also available in the keys of E flat Major (for alto or mezzo-soprano voice) and F Major or G Major (for soprano voice).

Composer :	Gounod, Charles-François (1818-1893)	Opus/catalog number :
Movements :	Andante con moto	Composition/First publication :	Romantic period
Instrumentation :	Alto voice and piano	Style :	Hymns & Worship
Key :	C Major	Duration :	02:18
Edition :	Edited by M.A. Caux	Difficulty :	Grade 9/12

Ave Maria (C Major)

Gounod, Charles-François (1818-1893)

Program Notes on Ave Maria (C Major) by Gounod :

Sources :

Frequently bought together :

Associated collections :

Sheet music details :

Look for similar sheet music by category :

Ave Maria (Latin)

Hail Mary (English)

Je Vous salue, Marie (French)