Ellens dritter Gesang (Ellens Gesang III, D839, Op 52 no 6, 1825), in English: "Ellen's Third Song", was composed by Franz Schubert in 1825 as part of his Opus 52, a setting of seven songs from Walter Scott's popular epic poem The Lady of the Lake, loosely translated into German.
It has become one of Schubert's most popular works under the title of Ave Maria, in arrangements with various lyrics which commonly differ from the original context of the poem.
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The piece was composed as a setting of a song from Walter Scott's popular epic poem The Lady of the Lake,[1] in a German translation by Adam Storck (1780-1822),[2] and thus forms part of Schubert's Liederzyklus vom Fräulein vom See.
In Scott's poem the character Ellen Douglas, the "Lady" of "the Lake" (Loch Katrine in the Scottish Highlands) has gone with her exiled father to stay in the "Goblin's cave" as he has declined to join their previous host, Roderick Dhu, in rebellion against King James. Roderick Dhu, the chieftain of Clan Alpine, sets off up the mountain with his warriors, but lingers and hears the distant sound of the harpist Allan-bane, accompanying Ellen who sings a prayer addressed to the Virgin Mary, calling upon her for help. Roderick Dhu pauses, then goes on to battle.[3]
Schubert's arrangement is said to have first been performed at the castle of Countess Sophie Weissenwolff in the little Austrian town of Steyregg and dedicated to her, which led to her becoming known as "the lady of the lake" herself.[4]
The opening words and refrain of Ellen's song, namely "Ave Maria" (Latin, "Hail Mary"), may have led to the idea of adapting Schubert's melody as a setting for the full text of the traditional Roman Catholic prayer Ave Maria. The Latin version of the Ave Maria is now so frequently used with Schubert's melody that it has led to the misconception that he originally wrote the melody as a setting for the Ave Maria.
Recordings of the Latin version of Ave Maria set to Ellens dritter Gesang include:
In 1825, Schubert composed a selection of seven songs from Scott's The Lady of the Lake. They were published in 1826 as his op. 52.
The songs are not intended for a single performer: the three songs of Ellen are piano songs for a woman's voice, while the songs for Norman and the Count of Douglas were intended for the baritone Johann Michael Vogl. The remaining two songs are written one for a male and the other for a female ensemble.
Schubert composed the songs to the German texts. However, with the exception of No. 5, the songs were clearly intended to be published with the original English texts as well. This meant finding correspondences to Storck's sometimes quite free translations, which entailed significant difficulties.
Ave Maria! Jungfrau mild, Ave Maria! Unbefleckt! Ave Maria! Reine Magd! |
Ave Maria! maiden mild! Ave Maria! undefiled! Ave Maria! stainless styled. |
Walt Disney used Schubert's song in the final part of Fantasia 1940, where he linked it to Modest Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain in one of his most famous pastiches. The end of Mussorgsky's work blends with almost no break into the beginning of Schubert's song, and as Deems Taylor remarked, the bells in "Night on Bald Mountain", originally meant to signal the coming of dawn, which cause the demon Chernabog to stop his dark worship and the ghosts to return to the grave, now seem to be church bells signalling the beginning of religious services. A procession of monks is shown walking along. The text for this version is sung in English, and was written by Rachel Field.[5] This version also had three stanzas, like Schubert's original, but only the third stanza made it into the film (one line in the last stanza is partially repeated to show how it is sung in the film):
Ave Maria!
Now your ageless bell
so sweetly sounds for listening ears,
from heights of Heaven to brink of Hell
in tender notes have echoed through the years.
Aloft from earth's far boundaries
Each poor petition, every prayer,
the hopes of foolish ones and wise
must mount in thanks or grim despair.
Ave Maria!
Ave Maria!
You were not spared one pang of flesh, or mortal tear;
So rough the paths your feet have shared,
So great the bitter burden of your fear.
Your heart has bled with every beat.
In dust you laid your weary head,
the hopeless vigil of defeat was yours
and flinty stone for bread
Ave Maria!
Ave Maria! Heaven's Bride.
The bells ring out in solemn praise,
for you, the anguish and the pride.
The living glory of our nights,
of our nights and days.
The Prince of Peace your arms embrace,
while hosts of darkness fade and cower.
Oh save us, mother full of grace,
In life and in our dying hour,
Ave Maria!
The version heard in Fantasia was made by Leopold Stokowski especially for the film, and unlike the original, which is for a solo voice, is scored for soprano and mixed chorus, accompanied by the string section of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The soloist is Julietta Novis.
The liner notes for the soundtrack LP of Fantasia, released by Disneyland Records (mono) and Buena Vista Records (stereo), and the booklet for the CD, released by Walt Disney Records, do not contain the Rachel Field lyric.
There is at least one additional set of lyrics for Schubert's Ave Maria / Ellens dritter Gesang: those used in an arrangement titled Ave Maria and performed by the Zurich Sängerknaben, with Daniel Perret as the soprano voice. Although less widespread in use, this set of lyrics received some attention due to its use as the theme song for the Hitman: Blood Money video game. A version is used in the soundtrack for the Hitman movie (a film based on the video game franchise), sung by Christina England. Contrary to popular belief, Jesper Kyd did not arrange either composition.
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Original German Ave Maria! Reine Magd! |
Direct English translation Ave Maria! Pure maidservant! |
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Latin Catholic Prayer Version Ave Maria, Mater Dei, |
Direct English translation Ave Maria, Mother of God, |
A version of the song performed by Aaron Neville plays out the ending of the film Alive.
An English version of song was released in 1998, by Céline Dion, Quebecker-Canadian singer, on her album "These Are Special Times" as her third Christmas album.
The song was included in both Hitman: Blood Money and Hitman (2007 film) and also used on the soundtrack of the video game Raven Shield.
The song is used as the basis of Beyoncé's song "Ave Maria" on her 2008 album I Am... Sasha Fierce. She performed the song on the televised lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center in 2008, and on her "I Am" world tour.
The same version of this song, as performed by City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, also appeared in the wedding scene of When in Rome (2010 film).
A version performed by Robert Rodriguez' band Chingon is used in the 2010 film Machete.
It is also sung by Alexandra Ivanoff in one of the opening scenes of Prizzi's Honor.
It was used in the Holby City episode "My Bad".
Pop/Rock singer Chris Cornell has done a recording of Ave Maria.
It was also used in the West Wing episode "The Crackpots and these Women" in which Josh plays it and talks about how his older sister, who it is later reveled to have been killed in a house fire, used to play it constantly when they were younger.
It was used in the anime, La Corda D'Oro ~primo passo~,.
Walt Disney's Fantasia, a book written by Deems Taylor and published in 1940 in conjunction with the film's original release. The text was later adapted for the liner notes in the booklet accompanying the 1957 LP release of the film soundtrack album.
Generation Gap Discography [1]
Performed by American Mezzo-Soprano Dorothea Fayne, accompanied by Uwe Streibel (Piano).
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