Ave Maria (Schubert) (Duet)

About This Song

Ave Maria sheet music for guitar: Ave Maria (“Hail Mary!”) was initially titled “Ellens dritter Gesang” and officially listed as “Ellens Gesang III, D. 839, Op. 52, No. 6.” Franz Schubert composed this work in 1825 as part of his Op. 52, a setting of seven songs from Walter Scott’s famous narrative poem The Lady of the Lake. Even in Schubert’s brief lifetime (he died in 1828 at age 31), “Ave Maria” was considered a masterpiece, and, unlike the vast majority of his compositions, it was published before his death.

Mr. Pasero has transcribed two arrangements of the work, one for solo guitar (to be recorded on his upcoming album–see sheet music on this website) and this version for two guitars (as recorded on his album Christmas Classics for Guitar) in 1986. (Please note that Mr. Pasero has edited this duet transcription and some harmonies and fingerings have been modified for this sheet music score. These revisions reflect Schubert’s original piano score.) Ave Maria sheet music for guitar is also transcribed for solo guitar here.

About the composer:

Franz Peter Schubert (31 January 1797 – 19 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast oeuvre. It includes more than 600 secular vocal works, seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music, and a large body of piano and chamber music. Born in the Himmelpfortgrund suburb of Vienna, Schubert showed uncommon gifts for music from an early age. His father gave him his first violin lessons and his elder brother gave him piano lessons, but Schubert soon exceeded their abilities. In 1808, at the age of eleven, he became a pupil at the Stadtkonvikt school, where he became acquainted with the orchestral music of Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven.