She found the whole situation highly inappropriate and replied to Gounod with an alternative text under the original poem. However, the gift was intercepted by Aurélie Jousset, Rosalie’s mother-in-law. Gounod selected this poem as the text for “Meditation,” and also gifted a copy to his student Rosalie Jousset. However, the first wordings utilized were not “Ave Maria,” but a short poem by Alphonse de Lamartine, titled “Vers écrits sur un album.” The poem was crafted as a gift for an admirer of Lamartine. Ave MariaĬharles Gounod added words to his composition in 1859. The fun fact is, this first edition is completely devoid of any song text. It also contained an optional second cello in case all organs are unavailable. In 1854, the first documented performance of “Meditation” was played by Adrien-François Servais. The title page states that the player can utilize a cello for the violin part but on a lower octave. In 1853, Gounod’s works were published under the name “Meditation on the First Prelude of Sebastian Bach.” It has a solo violin part along with a piano portion which is based on Bach’s prelude, although slightly reframed. Méditation sur le Premier Prélude de Sebastian Bach After a few days, the piece was again performed at a house concert organized by Zimmermann, utilizing a small choir, piano, and violin. Overwhelmed, Pierre rushed into the room and asked Gounod to play it again, and subsequently scribbled down the piece in musical notations. One evening, Gounod improvised an alluring melody over Bach’s Prelude in C and was overheard by Zimmermann. Anna’s father, Pierre-Joseph-Guillaume Zimmermann was a famous composer and pianist who had taught at the Paris Conservatory for many years. In 1852, Gounod used to spend several evenings at his Paris home accompanied by his fiancée Anna Zimmermann. Felix subsequently played some of Bach’s organ works in a private concert in the “Thomaskirche.” Incidentally, Bach had been a choirmaster there. They included a variety of Felix Mendelssohn's compositions and also numerous concertos, preludes, fugues, and sonatas of Bach.” Later, Gounod was invited by Felix Mendelssohn to visit Leipzig. She introduced me to various masterpieces in German music, including some works of Johann Sebastian Bach.
According to Charles, “Fanny would play the piano with a palpable simplicity and readiness, signifying her passion towards it.
She and her husband became close friends with Gounod. Out of the 35 measures present in the Prelude, there are 34 measures of “16th-note arpeggios” and one measure consisting of a single, “whole-note C-major chord.” The work can be characterized by its inventive and rich harmony, and frequent cacophony.Ĭharles Gounod considered Johann Sebastian as the “Master of masters.” He was introduced to some of Bach’s work on the keyboard in 1840 when he met Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel. The “Prelude in C major” is the first piece of this collection and is a famous piece among piano students since that time. Johann Sebastian Bach published “Book 1” of “The Well-Tempered Clavier” in 1772. The melody of this song was crafted some 80 years after its accompaniment, while Gounod added words to his composition after another seven years. The two great composers, in this case, Charles Gounod and Johann Sebastian Bach were not even contemporaries. Charles-François Gounod’s “Ave Maria” is a curious case in music history – the result of a musical collaboration that expanded through a century.
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