(Somethings are so beautiful, they just have to be reprised. The following is from a post dated November 8, 2009.)
In 1964, when the Cornell University Glee Club was performing in Germany, Franz Biebl asked them to perform his Ave Maria. They did so, and then brought the piece back home with them, where it has become a favorite of the San Francisco choral group, Chanticleer. The piece is a combination of Gregorian chants and portions of the Angelus and the Ave Maria.
That’s a more recent iteration of the Cornell University Glee Club in the video performing the piece, which music critic Jay Nordlinger calls “one of the most beautiful pieces of music of the twentieth century.” The performance was spontaneous and was performed prior to the start of the actual production, which was to be a performance of another German piece.
Most of us familiar with Franz Schubert’s rendition of Ave Maria may never have heard the Biebl version, but hearing it sung by a chorus (as in the above video) I have to agree with Mr. Nordlinger. I can think of nothing more ethereal, more sacred, or more beautiful.
Have a Beautiful Sunday.
