Edward Elgar

Edward Elgar’s Ave Maria, Op. 2 No. 2, is a concise and expressive sacred motet for SATB choir and organ, composed in 1887 and revised for publication in 1907.

It forms the second of the Three Motets, Op. 2. The first, originally a Pie Jesu written for the funeral of William Allen (a family friend and solicitor for whom the young Elgar had briefly worked), was later revised as Ave verum corpus and published in 1902. The second and third motets (Ave Maria and Ave maris stella) were drawn from earlier anthem sketches and published together in 1907.

Elgar wrote the piece while serving as organist at St George’s Roman Catholic Church in Worcester, a post he held from 1885. The music is dedicated to Mrs H. A. Leicester, wife of his close friend Hubert Leicester, the church’s choirmaster. The Latin text is the traditional Marian antiphon: “Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum…” followed by the petition “Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus.” An English version also exists.

Marked Andantino and set in B-flat major, the motet features a gently undulating, berceuse-like melody over a supportive organ accompaniment. Its direct, tender devotion and lyrical simplicity capture the sincerity of Elgar’s early sacred style, before the larger-scale achievements of the Enigma Variations and oratorios. The writing remains intimate and prayerful, with clear part-writing that suits liturgical use or concert performance.

Though overshadowed by Elgar’s more famous later works, Ave Maria retains quiet charm and is still performed by cathedral and church choirs. It reveals the young composer’s gift for memorable melody and heartfelt expression within modest forces, offering a graceful early example of the English choral tradition he would later enrich so profoundly.