Today, December 8th, marks the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, during which we contemplate the pristine nature of the Ark of the New Covenant. Mary was conceived free of sin in order to provide the pure vessel able to contain the Divinity of Christ. We wanted to celebrate this Holy day of obligation with this lovely recording of Schubert’s “Ave Maria”, performed by the talented violinist Anastasiya Petryshak.
Accompanied by an orchestra of 10, Petryshak gives a lovely performance that stays true to Schubert’s arrangement. The 23-year-old violinist may be young, but she is no new face on the scene of classical music. Having made her debut as an orchestral soloist at the age of 15, she is already a seasoned veteran.
In her career she has played with some of the top names in the industry — Sofia Gubaidulina, Salvatore Accardo, Rocco Filippini, Gianluigi Gelmetti — as well as with Andrea Bocelli, who has has utilized her as a soloist since she was 15. According to Wikipedia she is specialized in the use of antique Cremonese instruments including Stradivari, Amanti, Guarneri del Gesu and more.
Schubert wrote the piece in 1825, under the title “Ellen’s Third Song”, as a part of a setting of seven songs from Walter Scott’s popular epic poem, The Lady of the Lake. It became one of his most popular works, only becoming known as “Ave Maria” after it was recorded as such by many 20th century singers.
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And today we celebrate...