Gounod would say that he acquired his vocation with his mother’s milk, for she sang as she suckled him. Signs of an inherited musical gift—his mother, widowed young, supported the family by giving ...

Gounod’s ‘Ave Maria’ sounds absolutely divine on this bizarre instrument. Also called a singing saw, the musical saw is a genuine instrument that looks a bit like a hand saw. It is played with a ...

In 1853, a famous Bach keyboard prelude became a popular setting of the Ave Maria, today performed by singers and instrumentalists alike. The piece superimposes a melodic line over Bach’s piece, which ...