Brahms, Johannes - Ave Maria Op.12

Among the many works for which Brahms is celebrated, his Choral oeuvre is significant. This first Choral work, Ave Maria, originally written for SSAA and Organ, is not mere juvenilia. The flowing 6/8 piece is structured likeashort sonata movement, with the two pairs of Voices trading contrapuntal entrances until the parts join their Voices in the pleading ‘Ora pro nobis’, all with Brahmsian harmonies in the accompaniment.Brahms later arranged theworkfor SSAA and Orchestra followed by this setting for Chorus and Piano.