Bach / Gounod: Ave Maria | Trevor Nuckols, horn · Linda Avery, piano

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Bach / Gounod: Ave Maria

Trevor Nuckols, horn
Linda Avery, piano
Seann Avery, sound engineer

Recorded on August 13, 2025

Dedicated to Gene & Ania Berger

This performance features my custom B♭ Alexander horn (1950), a beautifully balanced instrument whose singing tone and responsiveness I have long relied upon in both solo and chamber repertoire.

Charles Gounod (1818–1893) was one of the most prominent French composers of the Romantic period, admired for his operas, sacred works, and melodic refinement. The Ave Maria that bears his name is built upon the first prelude in C major from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I (1722).

In 1853, Gounod improvised a flowing melody over Bach’s prelude, retaining the original harmonic framework without alteration. The idea was suggested and encouraged by his future father-in-law, Pierre-Joseph Zimmerman. In 1859, Gounod published the piece with the Latin text of the Ave Maria, and it soon gained worldwide popularity in both concert and devotional settings.

Bach’s prelude provides an unbroken sequence of arpeggiated chords, over which Gounod’s melody unfolds in long, unhurried phrases. The combination marries the structural clarity of the Baroque with the lyrical warmth of the Romantic era.

In arrangements for horn and piano, the horn assumes the role of the vocalist, sustaining the melodic line with the same purity and breath control required in song. The piano preserves Bach’s texture in full, creating a partnership that bridges two centuries of musical style while remaining instantly recognisable to audiences everywhere.