"Ellens dritter Gesang" ("Ellen's Third Song," D. 839, Op. 52, No. 6, 1825) was written by Franz Schubert in 1825. It is part of his Op. 52, a collection of seven songs based on Walter Scott's 1810 poem The Lady of the Lake, which was translated into German with some changes.

This piece is one of Schubert's most well-known works. While the original song was composed by Schubert, it is often performed and recorded under the name "Ave Maria," which is the Latin title for the prayer "Hail Mary." The title "Ave Maria" also appears in the lyrics of Ellen's song, which is a prayer to the Virgin Mary. Many versions of the song have been created with simpler musical arrangements and different lyrics than the original poem. Franz Liszt arranged the song for piano in three different versions.

The Lady of the Lakeand the "Ave Maria"

This musical piece was created as a musical version of a song (verse XXIX from Canto Three) from Walter Scott's well-known narrative poem The Lady of the Lake. The poem was translated into German by Adam Storck (1780–1822), and this song is part of Schubert's collection of songs titled Liederzyklus vom Fräulein vom See. In Scott's poem, Ellen Douglas, known as the Lady of the Lake (Loch Katrine in the Scottish Highlands), lives with her banished father in a cave called the Goblin's cave. Her father refused to join Roderick Dhu, the leader of Clan Alpine, in an uprising against King James. Roderick Dhu travels up the mountain with his warriors but stops to listen to the distant sound of the harpist Allan-bane, who plays as Ellen sings a prayer to the Virgin Mary, asking for help. After a moment, Roderick Dhu continues to the battle.

Schubert's version of this song was first performed at the castle of Countess Sophie Weissenwolff in the small Austrian town of Steyregg. The song was dedicated to her, which led people to call her "the lady of the lake."

The opening words and repeated line of Ellen's song, "Ave Maria" (Latin for "Hail Mary"), may have inspired the use of Schubert's melody for the full text of the traditional Roman Catholic prayer "Ave Maria." Today, the Latin version of the prayer is often paired with Schubert's melody, leading some to believe he originally wrote the melody for the "Ave Maria" prayer.

Position within the cycle

In 1825, Franz Schubert wrote seven songs based on poems from Sir Walter Scott's The Lady of the Lake. These songs were published in 1826 as his Opus 52.

The songs are not meant for one person to perform alone. Three of the songs, called Ellen's Songs, are for a woman's voice with piano accompaniment. The songs titled Norman's Song and Malcolm Graeme's Song were written for a baritone named Johann Michael Vogl. The other two songs were intended for groups: one for a group of four male singers and another for a group of female singers.

• "Ellens Gesang I," D. 837, "Raste Krieger, Krieg ist aus" / "Soldier rest! the warfare o'er"
• "Ellens Gesang II," D. 838, "Jäger, ruhe von der Jagd" / "Huntsman, rest! thy chase is done"
• "Bootgesang" (Hail to the Chief), D. 835, "Triumph, er naht" / "who in triumph approaches," for four male singers
• "Coronach" (Deathsong of the women and girls), D. 836, "Er ist uns geschieden" / "He is gone to the mountain," for a group of female singers
• "Normans Gesang," D. 846, "Die Nacht bricht bald herein" / "Night will soon be falling"
• "Ellens Gesang III" (Hymn to the Virgin), D. 839, "Ave Maria! Jungfrau mild" / "Ave Maria! maiden mild!"
• "Lied des gefangenen Jägers," D. 843, "Mein Roß so müd" / "My steed is tired"

Schubert wrote the songs using German texts. However, it seems the songs were also meant to be published with the original English texts. This required matching the German lyrics to the English versions translated by Storck, which was very challenging because the translations were not always direct.

Lyrics

The Schubert version repeats words and phrases so they match his melody. Here is the actual prayer in Latin and in English.

Ave, María, grátia plena,
Benedicta tu in muliéribus,
et benedíctus fructus ventris
Sancta María, Mater Dei,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae.

Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now
and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Use inFantasia(1940)

In the final part of Walt Disney's 1940 film Fantasia, Schubert's song was used and connected to Modest Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain in one of Disney's most famous musical arrangements. The ending of Mussorgsky's piece smoothly transitions into the beginning of Schubert's song with little pause. As Deems Taylor explained, the bells in Night on Bald Mountain, which originally signaled the arrival of dawn and caused the demon Chernabog to stop his dark rituals and the ghosts to return to their graves, now appear to represent church bells marking the start of religious services. A scene shows monks walking in a procession. The lyrics in this version are in English and were written by Rachel Field. This version included three stanzas, like Schubert's original, but only the third stanza was used in the film. One line from the final stanza is repeated in the film to show how it is sung.

The version of Schubert's song in Fantasia was arranged by Leopold Stokowski specifically for the film. Unlike the original, which was written for a single voice, this version was composed for a soprano and mixed chorus, accompanied by the string section of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The soloist in the film was Julietta Novis.