Ave Maria (Beyoncé song)

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"Ave Maria"
Beyoncé
from the album I Am... Sasha Fierce
ReleasedNovember 12, 2008
Recorded2008
StudioRoc the Mic Studios (New York City, New York)
Genre
Length3:42
LabelColumbia
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
Producer(s)
  • Stargate
  • Knowles

"Ave Maria" is a song by American singer

ballad, Beyoncé sings in a lower register with an operatic soprano
. Lyrically, it speaks about being surrounded by friends but still feeling alone.

Critical reception towards the song was mixed. Many contemporary critics praised its balladry and Beyoncé's vocals while others dubbed it as merely a normal take on the original. Following the release of I Am... Sasha Fierce, "Ave Maria" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 150 on November 29, 2008, based on downloads alone. The song was a part Beyoncé's set list during her I Am... World Tour (2009–10) where she sang it dressed in a wedding dress and veil. "Ave Maria" was subsequently included on her live album, I Am... World Tour (2010). Beyoncé also performed the song as a tribute to Michael Jackson during the 2009 BET Awards.

Writing and inspiration

Mikkel Storleer Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, together under the stage name

Stargate, wrote and produced the song with Amanda Ghost, Ian Dench,Makeba Riddick and Beyoncé, who also co-produced it.[1] The song was written in Bangladesh, Patchwerk and Silent Sound Studios in Atlanta, Georgia in 2008.[1] Beyoncé worked with Amanda Ghost to re-write Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria" after having co-written "Disappear" in London.[2] She stated that the song was one of the most personal on the album.[3] Ghost told The Daily Telegraph that Beyoncé's references to rapper Jay-Z are usually unclear and open to interpretation, yet her music, including "Ave Maria", "is the one place she can be incredibly expressive".[2] Beyoncé and Ghost both liked Schubert's song and walked down the aisle to the song during their respective weddings. The marriages of the artists inspired them to write their own version of the recording.[2]
She further discussed the lyrics and inspiration:

[T]he lyric is very much about her. She talks about being surrounded by friends but she's alone: 'How can the silence seem so loud?' and then 'There's only us when the lights go down'. I think that's probably the most personal line on the whole album about her and Jay, because they are very real, and they're very much in love, and it must be pretty tough to have that love when you're incredibly famous.[2]

"Ave Maria" is present on the I Am... disc of the

ballad that shows Beyoncé's insecurities about love,[4][5] and the person she is "underneath all the makeup, underneath the lights and underneath all the exciting star drama".[6] Beyoncé has said that she loves singing ballads because, "the music and the emotion in the story is told [sic] so much better. It's a better connection because you can hear it and it's not all these other distractions. I really wanted people to hear my voice and hear what I had to say."[4] During an interview, Beyoncé revealed that "Ave Maria" was the most personal song to her on the whole album.[7]

Composition

"Ave Maria" is a

beats per minute and it is set in common time.[11] The song samples Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria",[12][13][14] however as noted by Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly, even though it "does riff on the classic aria, it's not an actual cover".[9] The main instruments in "Ave Maria" include a piano and strings.[6] Throughout the song, Beyoncé's voice shows restraint as she sings in a lower register with an operatic soprano[15] that gives her more vocal power, as commented by Jennifer Vineyard of MTV News.[6] Her vocal range spans from the music note of B3 to E5.[11] Lyrically, "Ave Maria" is about being surrounded by friends but still feeling alone, as conveyed by the lines, "How can the silence seem so loud?" and "There's only us when the lights go down".[2] This view was echoed by Joey Guerra of the Houston Chronicle, who wrote that the song weaves "a vivid tale of a desperate woman".[16]

Critical reception

'Ave Maria'... pour[s] out in rapid succession... a powerful and emotionally stirring ballad with universal resonance; [it] signal[s] progression and maturity for Beyoncé the songwriter."
—David Rive, The Michigan Daily[17]

Contemporary music critics received the "Ave Maria" with mixed reception. While some praised Beyoncé's emotion-filled vocals, others stated that her version was merely a normal take on the original. Joey Guerra of the Houston Chronicle commended the open-hearted emotion and the soft vocals that Beyoncé adopts on "Ave Maria", before adding that it is "a clever riff on the classic aria" and "a unique risk that pays off".[16] Likewise, the Hartford Courant's Eric R. Danton, praised the rework of the classic aria, adding that Beyoncé's lyrics were an "elegant take on the timeless melody".[18] Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork commented that Beyoncé's twist on the song is "vocally impeccable, but it reads more like recital fodder rather than a true confessional."[19] Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly wrote that on the I Am disc there were some "lovely ballads" including "Disappear", the "soaring 'Halo' and 'Ave Maria'".[9] Matos Michaelangelo of The A.V. Club wrote that "Beyoncé has a real flair for grandeur" and the "big, wide melodies of 'Halo' and 'Ave Maria' give her enough to work with that."[20] Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune commented that "Ave Maria" offers a "rare moment of comfort" and added that it "come[s] off as delicate as Beyoncé's emotions."[21] Jim Farber of New York Daily News praised the song with its "operatic flourishes... [and] heavenly élan".[22] In another review, he noted that the song was "by far her most melodically sure, and musically diverse, work".[23] USA Today's Elysa Gardner chose "Ave Maria" as one of the songs to download from the album.[24] While reviewing I Am... Sasha Fierce, a critic from People magazine noted that "the classically tinged 'Ave Maria,'... shows even more range [than 'If I Were a Boy']."[14]

Spence D. of

E! Online placed the song at number ten on their list of ten best Beyoncé's songs. They further added, "The new classic kicks off with the plucking off some light strings and you know by the end you'll be singing through tears."[32]

Live performances

Beyoncé performing "Ave Maria" during her I Am... World Tour. During the performances she was dressed as a bride.[15][33]

"Ave Maria" was a part of the

News & Record, the strangest moment of the concert was Beyoncé's "unironic delivery" of "Ave Maria", for which she was attired in a wedding dress and veil.[37]

Following Beyoncé's performance of the ballad at

Madonna's.[40] While reviewing another concert by Beyoncé, Ann Powers of Los Angeles Times also compared the performance with "pop's ultimate alpha female" Madonna at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards.[41] She also compared "Ave Maria" with the singer's 1989 song "Like a Prayer" because they both used religious imagery to elevate a romantic connection.[41] A writer of Evening Chronicle praised the performance of the song during the tour, saying that it showed off Beyoncé's "incredible" vocals.[42] MTV News' Jayson Rodriguez commented that Beyoncé uses her softer side while performing the ballad.[43] Jim Farber of the Daily News praised the performance of the song, saying that "Beyoncé hit notes with a new delicacy, then moved seamlessly into the final operatic crescendo".[23] Barbara Ellen of The Observer was negative about the performance of "Ave Maria" during the I Am... World Tour, comparing it with Challenge Anneka and bridezilla. She described it as "nonsense... [it] has no place in a Beyoncé show".[44]

Beyoncé performed "Ave Maria" in

New Jersey On-Line described the same performance as "operatic".[13] Holly Byrnes of The Daily Telegraph while reviewing another stop during the concert tour of Beyoncé in Australia wrote that her performance of the ballad "guaranteed to have raised the sails of the Sydney Opera House",[47] while Patrick Emery of The Australian described her performance during another stop in the same country as "soaring".[48] A live performance of "Ave Maria" is featured on Beyoncé's 2010 live album, I Am... World Tour.[49][50] Andy Gill of The Independent, while reviewing the DVD, gave a negative review for the performance of the song, writing that "if her grotesque over-emoting on 'Ave Maria' is anything to go by, legibility could make things a lot worse."[51] On December 3, 2008, Beyoncé's performance of "Ave Maria" at the Rockefeller Center, in New York, was broadcast on NBC. A writer from People magazine described her performance as "rousing".[52] Beyoncé sang the song as a tribute to Michael Jackson at the 2008 Essence Music Festival.[53] She later performed the song during the 2009 BET Awards,[54][55] where she blended it with Sarah McLachlan's song "Angel" in honor to Michael Jackson, following his death.[56] Beyoncé appeared in an angelic Balmain mini white dress,[56][57] and according to a writer from The Daily Telegraph, she performed a "moving version" of "Ave Maria".[58] A writer for the newspaper The Hindu commented that the performance of the song was "simultaneously sexy and angelic".[59]

Cover versions

On May 12, 2012,

The Voice (Australia).[62] Simon Holt of The Sydney Morning Herald noted that "she has a voice which brought tears to many eyes", including coach and mentor Seal's.[62] Coach Joel Madden said: "I have to be respectful. That was a very spiritual performance. I'm not sure what it was like for people at home, but that felt electric in here".[62] A reviewer for Take 40 Australia called it a "rousing version".[63] Veamatahau's version peaked at number 25 on the Australian Singles Chart for the week of June 10, 2012.[64][65]

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from I Am... Sasha Fierce liner notes.[1][66]

Charts

Following the album's digital release, "Ave Maria" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 150 on November 29, 2008.[67][68] It also charted on the Portuguese Ringtone Chart in 2010 at number 16.[69]

Chart performance for "Ave Maria"
Chart (2008–2023) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart[70] 90
France (SNEP)[71] 160
Portuguese Ringtone Chart[69] 6
UK Singles Chart[67] 150

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[72] Gold 35,000
United States (RIAA)[73] Gold 500,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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External links