Description
The French Bach revival, which commenced in the early 19th century, reached a significant peak around 1850. At that time, Charles Gounod, who was relatively unknown, delved deeply into Bach's compositions, including his chorales, motets, and the preludes and fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier. In a private performance in 1852, Gounod is reported to have created an expressive, cantabile melody over the renowned broken chords of Bach’s C-major Prelude BWV 846, which would later gain immense popularity when paired with the text of the Ave Maria. Initial instrumental arrangements of this piece were published in 1853, including a solo piano version by Gounod himself, now presented for the first time as an Urtext edition.
