The French Romantic composer Charles Gounod added a beautiful melody to the Prelude in C by Baroque master Johann Sebastian Bach, to create this beloved and inspiring Ave Maria.

This pedal harp solo arranged by Stephanie Bennett (ASCAP) has been meticulously notated with fingerings, as well as tempo and dynamics markings.

Great for any classical-music setting, & for any Christian occasion (weddings, funerals, christenings, Christmas, etc.)

If you print it out on paper, remember that the ODD numbered pages go on your LEFT and the EVEN numbered pages go on your right. Laid out this way, there will be only one easy page turn (from page 3 to page 4).

If you take the repeat, it?s about 4 minutes long. If you skip the repeat (go directly to 2nd ending), it?s about 2 minutes & 15 seconds.

This ever-popular piece is often performed at weddings, funerals and many other solemn ceremonial events. It has always been a favorite among instrumental players and often used in recitals or concert encores. In 1853, the well-known French composer Charles Gounod added his own melody over a rippling keyboard accompaniment which was a slightly adapted version of the Prelude No. 1 in C major, BWV846, from Book I of J. S. Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, published in 1722. The title of the ?combined? piece was Méditation sur le Premier Prélude de Piano de S. Bach. Gounod?s original arrangement transposed Bach?s keyboard part from C major into F major and it was scored for violin (or cello), organ and piano. In 1859, the French music publishing company Jacques-Léopold Heugel brought out a vocal version based on the familiar Latin text. Ave Maria (Hail Mary) is a traditional Catholic prayer addressed to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus.
The version of Bach's prelude which Gounod used included the so-called "Schwencke measure" (m. 27 in this arrangement), a measure (bar) allegedly added by the German composer and pianist Christian Friedrich Gottlieb Schwencke (1767-1822) in an attempt to correct what was considered a harmonic weakness in the original. Whether there actually was a ?harmonic weakness? (or possibly an error in the manuscript) remains a matter of conjecture but the fact remains that the most familiar-sounding version of this piece, recorded countless times by both singers and instrumentalists includes this Schwencke measure. It is therefore included in this arrangement.
Some published arrangements show minor inconsistencies in the rhythm of the melody. This arrangement uses the familiar rhythm of the Ave Maria version as it appeared in the 1859 edition.