Gounod, Charles, 1818-1893. Ave Maria (Vocal version)

"Ave Maria" is a setting of the Latin prayer Ave Maria, originally published in 1853 as "Méditation sur le 1er prélude de piano de S. Bach". The piece consists of a melody by the French Romantic composer Charles Gounod that he superimposed over an only very slightly changed version of Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C major, BWV 846, from Book I of his The Well-Tempered Clavier, 1722. The 1853 publication has French text, but it is the 1859 version with the Latin "Ave Maria" which became popular.