Ellens dritter Gesang

Ellens dritter Gesang (Ellens Gesang III, D839, Op 52 no 6, 1825), Ellen's third song in English, composed by Franz Schubert in 1825, is one of Schubert's most popular works, although some misconceptions exist regarding its provenance.

"The Lady of the Lake" and the "Ave Maria"

The piece is often referred to as Schubert's Ave Maria; but it was originally composed as a setting of a song from Walter Scott's popular epic poem The Lady of the Lake, in the German translation by Adam Storck, and thus forms part of Schubert's "Liederzyklus vom Fräulein vom See". In Scott's poem the character Ellen Douglas, the "Lady" of "the Lake" (Loch Katrine in the Scottish Highlands) has gone with her father to hide in the "Goblin's cave" nearby to avoid drawing the vengeance of the King on their host, the Clan-Alpine chieftain Roderick Dhu, who has been affording them shelter since the King had exiled them. She sings a prayer addressed to the Virgin Mary, calling upon her for help. Ellen is overheard by Roderick Dhu who is higher on the mountain, raising the clan for war.

The piece is said to have first been performed at the castle of Countess Sophie Weissenwolff in the little Austrian town Steyregg and dedicated to her, which led to her subsequently becoming known as the lady of the lake herself.

The opening words and refrain of Ellen's song, namely "Ave Maria" (Latin, "Hail Mary"), may have led to the idea of adapting Schubert's melody as a setting for the full text of the traditional Roman Catholic prayer Ave Maria. The Latin version of the Ave Maria is now so frequently used with Schubert's melody, that it has led to the misconception that he originally wrote the melody as a setting for the Ave Maria.

The words of "Ellens dritter Gesang"

Use in Disney's Fantasia

Walt Disney used Schubert's song in the final part of Fantasia, where he chained it to Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain, in one of his most famous pastiches. The end of Mussorgsky's work blends with almost no change right into the beginning of Schubert's song, and as Deems Taylor remarked, the bells in "Night on Bald Mountain", originally meant to signal the coming of dawn, now seem to be church bells signalling the beginning of religious services. The text for this version is sung in English, and was written by Rachel Field, who based it on Schubert's original. This version also had three verses, like Schubert's original, but only the third verse made it into the film: (one line in the last verse is partailly repeated to show just exactly how it is sung in the film)

Ave Maria!
Now your ageless bell
so sweetly sounds for listening ears,
from heights of Heaven to brink of Hell
in tender notes have echoed through the years.
Aloft from earth's far boundaries
Each poor petition, every prayer,
the hopes of foolish ones and wise
must mount in thanks or grim despair.
Ave Maria!

Ave Maria!
You were not spared one pang of flesh, or mortal tear;
So rough the paths your feet have shared,
So great the bitter burden of your fear.
Your heart has bled with every beat.
In dust you laid your weary head,
the hopeless vigil of defeat was yours
and flinty stone for bread
Ave Maria!

Ave Maria! Heaven's Bride.
The bells ring out in solemn praise,
for you, the anguish and the pride.
The living glory of our nights,
of our nights and days.
The prince of peace your arms embrace,
while hosts of darkness fade and cower.
Oh save us, mother full of grace,
In life and in our dying hour,
Ave Maria!

The arrangement was made by Leopold Stokowski especially for the film, and unlike the original, which is scored for a solo voice, the version heard in Fantasia is scored for soprano and mixed chorus, accompanied by the string section of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The soloist is Julietta Novis.

References

Walt Disney's Fantasia, a book written by Deems Taylor and published in 1940 in conjunction with the film's original release. The text was later adapted for the liner notes in the booklet accompanying the 1957 LP release of the film soundtrack album.

Media

External links

• Franz Peter Schubert: Master of Song
• A note on the theological perspective of Ellens dritter Gesang
• Ellens dritter Gesang: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
• edition by William J. Rolfe, Boston 1883 pdf, with the song on page 58, and notes on alternate words on page 177
• The Lady of the Lake (Gutenberg e-text #3011) The full text of Walter Scott's poem, including Hymn to the Virgin

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