Ave verum corpus (Mozart)
Ave verum corpus ("Hail, True Body"), K. It is a setting of the Latin hymn of the same name, written for Anton Stoll, a friend who was the church musician of St. Stephan in Baden bei Wien. The motet was composed for the feast of Corpus Christi and is scored for SATB choir, string instruments, and organ.
- Composer
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Key
- D major
- Catalog number
- K. 618
- Genre
- Motet
- Scoring
- SATB choir, string instruments, organ
- Dedicatee
- Anton Stoll
Lore & Background
He wrote it while visiting his wife Constanze, who was pregnant with their sixth child and staying in the spa Baden bei Wien. Mozart set the main verse of the 13th-century Latin Eucharist hymn "Ave verum corpus", omitting the last three lines. Stoll was the musical director of the parish St. Stephan, Baden. Mozart's manuscript contains minimal directions, with only a single sotto voce marking at the beginning.
Reader's Guide
The motet was composed less than six months before Mozart's death. It foreshadows "aspects of the Requiem such as declamatory gesture, textures, and integration of forward- and backward-looking stylistic elements". While the Requiem is a dramatic composition, this motet is simpler in structure, suited for the church choir in a small town. It expresses Mozart's deeply held beliefs about the Eucharist; he uses chromatic and tonal harmonic structures to reflect on religious themes of death, salvation and communion. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky incorporates an orchestration of Liszt's transcription in his fourth orchestral suite, Mozartiana, Op. 61; a tribute to Mozart's music.
Did You Know?
- Mozart composed the motet while visiting his wife Constanze, who was pregnant with their sixth child and staying in the spa Baden bei Wien.
- The composition is only forty-six bars long and contains minimal directions, with a single sotto voce marking at the beginning.
- Franz Liszt made transcriptions of the motet for piano solo and for organ, and quoted it in his piece Evocation à la Chapelle Sixtine.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ave verum corpus (Mozart)?
It is a brief sacred motet by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, catalogued as K. 618, that sets the traditional Latin hymn of the same name to music. Mozart composed it specifically for the feast of Corpus Christi.
Who did Mozart write Ave verum corpus (Mozart) for?
The piece was dedicated to Anton Stoll, a personal friend of Mozart who worked as the church musician at St. Stephan in Baden bei Wien. Mozart intended it for Stoll to use in his Corpus Christi services.
What is the scoring of Ave verum corpus (Mozart)?
The work calls for a four-part SATB choir supported by a string ensemble and organ. It is a modestly sized ensemble, far smaller than many of Mozart's other choral works.
What key is Ave verum corpus (Mozart) in?
The motet is written in D major. That bright, open tonality fits the devotional and celebratory mood of the hymn text about the Eucharist.
Why is Ave verum corpus (Mozart) so widely performed?
Despite lasting only a few minutes, it is celebrated for its luminous harmonic writing and the way it conveys deep reverence with remarkable economy of means. It has become one of the most beloved and frequently programmed pieces in the standard choral repertoire.
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