This free Ave Maria sheet music fulfills the desire for wedding ceremony music that is elegant and beautiful.
There are many musical settings for the text "Ave Maria," but the one by Bach/Gounod is one of the most famous, and makes the loveliest of wedding songs.
On this page, you'll free lead sheets in two languages, and downloadable piano accompaniments.
With alternative English words addressed to God the Father, this free wedding sheet music joins the ranks of Protestant Christian wedding songs. Yes, the Latin words are here too.
The English words begin, "Father Almighty, Lord, we adore thee, bending before thee; hear us, unworthy though we be!"
This first group of free Ave Maria sheet music lead sheets uses the Latin lyrics.
Scroll down the page for the links to the free printable PDFs.
I have set it in multiple keys, (and in English as well) so that most instrumentalists can play it, as well as most vocalists sing it.
See the note ranges of Ave Maria in the different keys, below:
And now, here is the lead sheet for the English adaptation of Ave Maria, "Father Almighty."
When I looked for wedding songs for my own wedding (many years ago!), none of the Christian wedding songs seemed as beautiful to me as this English prayer.
For non-Catholic Christians, and particularly for wedding ceremony music, the English words substituted here, "Father Almighty... Lord, we adore Thee...etc." are much more meaningful.
The prayer ends with the words "Hear us, oh hear us, and let Thy blessing rest on us." This is how it was sung at my wedding, but I do not know who wrote the English words, as I can't find them anymore!
Again, the note ranges of the song, below:
Here is the Latin Ave Maria with piano accompaniment. It sounds like the Bach Prelude in C, because it is! Charles Gounod took Bach's lovely prelude and composed a melody to layer over the top of it.
Unlike most of my public domain arrangements and music, it is not free, but is for sale. I am charging $5.00 for UNLIMITED COPIES, in all 6 keys!!
Here is what the Latin version (the original), pages 1 and 3 of the 4-page document, look like:
What is interesting about the history of this wedding ceremony music is that J.S.Bach, who wrote the Prelude in C (which forms the underlying harmonic foundation for this song) was a German Protestant.
As many musicians know, he wrote great quantities of sacred music, and dedicated his pieces "in the name of Jesus" and "to the glory of God alone." (The Prelude in C is part of a set of 24 paired preludes and fugues for keyboard instrument called "The Well-Tempered Clavier", written in each major and minor key.)
Charles Gounod, who composed the lovely soaring melody and set it over Bach's C Prelude, was a French Catholic who for a time considered entering the priesthood.
Like many Catholic composers, he wished to make a setting of the Ave Maria (a prayer to Mary). It is a beautiful setting.
Pages 2 & 4, below, are shown in the English version, Father Almighty. You can buy this version in the keys of A, C, D, F, and G - $5 for all the keys, unlimited copies:
So why should you buy Ave Maria (Latin) or Father Almighty (English adaptation) arrangements from me, aside from the fact that it is hard to find, and there are no other English adaptations available (that I know of)?
I give you permission to make UNLIMITED COPIES, for YOUR STUDENTS ONLY, of these two arrangements.
This song is available immediately as a digital download onto your computer. In 5 keys, for English ("Father Almighty") and 6 keys for Latin, "Ave Maria"!
You don't have to download any new software into your computer in order to download this PDF. I don't know about you, but I hate clogging up my computer with yet another program I didn't know I needed. You just need a version of Adobe Acrobat or another PDF reader, which all computers come with. If you DON'T have Adobe Acrobat or a similar program, then you couldn't download any of my other PDFs either.
Speaking of reading the music, you can print this music on any kind of paper you want, and thus avoid the glare of shiny pages (so irritating for accompanists!).
Write and make notes all over these copies, in red and other colors, without feeling you are spoiling your music for posterity. I dislike messing up my music books, but learning the piece is always the first priority. These printouts will make great working copies.
Do you need a letter of permission in order to use this music at a competition? Write me through the Contact Me form, and I will email you a personal letter.
I give you permission to make UNLIMITED COPIES legally (for your students only). When you need music, you usually need it NOW. Your accompanist, your soloist-student... let them have this music without fear of copyright infringement. And help them learn respect for the musician's trade!
Paypal, the payment system I use, is a secure and recognized payment system. You can pay by credit or debit card, or your bank account. E-Junkie delivers the PDF document, working as a partner with PayPal... your purchase is guaranteed.
The links for the Latin free vocal line PDFs:
Download free Ave Maria sheet music in the key of A
Download free wedding music in the key of C
Download free wedding song Ave Maria in the key of D
Download Ave Maria sheet music in the key of Eb
Download wedding ceremony music Ave Maria in the key of F
Download Ave Maria sheet music in the key of G
The links for the vocal line of the English version of Ave Maria:
Download Father Almighty sheet music in the key of A
Download free English Ave Maria sheet music in C
Download Father Almighty sheet music in D
Download Father Almighty sheet music in Eb
Download Father Almighty sheet music in F
Download Father Almighty sheet music in G
All the first-year material I give my beginner students.
Piano keyboard sheets, scales, chords, note-reading exercises, and over 256 pages of music!
This beautiful song book for piano & voice "Esther, For Such a Time as This", available as a digital download, tells the riveting story of the time when Jews in ancient Persia faced a foe named Haman, and how a brave young queen risked her life to save her people.
A good choice for a singing story-teller, an operatic group, a short theater production, or a class of children!
This book is also available from Amazon as a paperback.
This book is available as a digital download from this site. Visit this page to see some free examples from the book.
It is also available from Amazon as a paperback!
This is the perfect easy start for little pianists.
And when they start reading white-key notes on the staff, this is a fun easy resource to say each week, "Choose a new black-key song at home this week and figure it out to show me next lesson!" They will be spending more time at the piano.
A perfect read aloud storybook
for little boys or girls.
The Adventures of Tonsta highlight the travels of a very young boy with a good heart, who goes about helping folk in trouble.
With a red cap on his head and a sack of tools slung over his shoulder, Tonsta seems to meet people in distress wherever he goes.
Lots of trolls in this book - including one who gives him a Christmas gift!
Toni:
Thank you for your wonderful website. I also teach piano, voice and guitar - spooky! My absolute passion is opera, and have opened many a singing student's ear to the beautiful melodies and voices in the repertoire.
Thank you for the wonderful warm-ups which I have downloaded, and will be using at the earliest opportunity - I will let you know how they go! Looking forward to more warm up ideas, too.
Jane:
I just came across your website. Thank you for your wonderful generosity in sharing all these tools and tips! I am 78 years old, have sung solos and in choirs all my life and am currently appearing in our local Mary Poppins production as the Bird Woman.
The mother of one of our very young actors (7) has asked me if I would teach her to sing. I am not sure I am qualified, but with all the tools you have provided, I am considering it.
Do you have a story or even a question about this vocal piece? Share it!
Please note that all comments are moderated, and will not appear until I have approved them. Also, IF YOU ARE ASKING FOR MUSIC THAT IS NOT IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, YOUR REQUEST WILL BE IGNORED. That's pretty much any music written in the last 75 years...
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Choir Director Not rated yet
I think that Protestants should not be hesitant to use the Ave Maria words, as they come from the Gospels!
Dana: I will sing them in a recital, but …
Hi, I'm Dana! (Say that like "Anna".) I'm the owner of Music-for-Music-Teachers.com, and a newer site, SingTheBibleStory.com.
Like some of you, I've been playing the piano since early childhood, and have added a few other instruments along the way, plus an interest in arranging and composing music.
You can find out more about me and the reason for this website at my About Me page.