Franz Xaver Biebl (1 September 1906 – 2 October 2001) was a German composer of classical music. Most of his compositions were for

choral A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

ensembles. Biebl was born in Pursruck, now part of

Freudenberg, Bavaria Freudenberg () is a municipality in the Amberg-Sulzbach district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated approximately 10 km north-east of Amberg Amberg () is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate ab ...

, in 1906. He studied composition at the Musikhochschule in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. Biebl served as choir director at the

Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

of St Maria in München-Thalkirchen from 1932 until 1939, and as an assistant professor of choral music at the

Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg ( German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the "Mozarteum" name in Salzburg municipality; the International Mozarteu ...

, an academy of music in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, beginning in 1939, where he taught voice and

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

. Biebl was drafted into the military beginning in 1943 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was a prisoner of war from 1944 to 1946, being detained at Fort Custer in

Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in northwestern Calhoun County, Michigan, United States, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a tota ...

. After the war, he moved from Austria to

Fürstenfeldbruck Fürstenfeldbruck () is a town in Bavaria, Germany, 32 kilometres west of Munich. It is the capital of the district of Fürstenfeldbruck. it had a population of 35,494. Since the 1930s Fürstenfeldbruck has had an air force base. Geography F ...

, Germany, where he served as director of the town chorus.

''Ave Maria''

Biebl's best-known work is his ''Ave Maria'', which sets portions of the ''

Angelus FIle:Jean-François Millet (II) 001.jpg, ''The Angelus (painting), The Angelus'' (1857–1859) by Jean-François Millet The Angelus (; Latin for "angel") is a Catholic devotion commemorating the Incarnation (Christianity), Incarnation of Jesus ...

'' as well as the ''

Ave Maria The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical pa ...

''. The piece was composed sometime before 1 May 1959. The original composition was in the key of D major, but changed to C major when it was published by Wildt's Musikverlag in 1964. The piece was brought to the United States by the

Cornell University Glee Club The Cornell University Glee Club (CUGC), founded in 1868, is the oldest student organization at Cornell University. The CUGC is a thirty-nine member Choir, chorus for tenor and bass voices, with repertoire including european classical music, cla ...

in 1970. The ensemble met Biebl while on tour in Germany, during a recording session at a radio network where Biebl was music director. Conductor Thomas A. Sokol was given a number of Biebl's works, premiering them after returning home.Michael Slon, ''Songs from the Hill – A History of the Cornell University Glee Club''. The ''Ave Maria'' quickly gained popularity, most notably after becoming part of the repertoire of Chanticleer. Although the ''Ave Maria'' was originally scored for male voices (TTB/TTBB), in 1985 Biebl prepared additional arrangements for SAT/

SATB In music, SATB is a scoring of compositions for choirs or consorts of instruments consisting of four voice types: soprano, alto, tenor and bass. Choral music Four-part harmony using soprano, alto, tenor and bass is a common scoring in classic ...

(in B flat major) and SAA/TTBB choirs. In 1998, Biebl prepared a fourth arrangement for SSA/SSAA choir. As part of the Hinshaw Music, Inc. sheet music catalog, the four versions have sold over 670,000 copies between 1992 and 2016.

References

External links

* Matthew Oltman,
The Iconic One-Hit Wonder: The History and Reception of Franz Biebl's Ave Maria
', University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2017 (visited 2 August 2017) *

(Archive from 16 July 2011)
Recording of Biebl's ''Ave Maria'' by Chanticleer
(click PLAY button on "Sample Clip") {{DEFAULTSORT:Biebl, Franz 1906 births 2001 deaths 20th-century German classical composers German military personnel of World War II Musicians from the Kingdom of Bavaria German male classical composers 20th-century German male musicians