Feller, Harald: Ave Maria

'The Ave Maria, apart from the Lord's Prayer, is one of the most important Christian prayers. The 19th century in particular produced countless simple and often very catchy compositions which touched the soul, the two settings by Gounod and Schubert probably being the most popular ones. With the dawning of the modern era, however, this interest can only be found occasionally; all in all it is clearly declining. The present composition takes up this prayer again and, using a new tonal language, puts it in a very expressive musical context. It is notably the aspect of interceding in the hour of death that undergoes a brief moment of high drama in the present setting before the composition ends in a softly fading 'Amen'.' (Harald Feller)