I was looking today for alternate lyrics composed in the last few decades to Ave Maria. I remembered finding them on the Internet, but lost track of them somehow and couldn’t locate them again.
I wrote an extensive post on my personal (fledgling) website, with a plea for help. You can read that post here if you wish.
Cutting to the chase, the lyrics were located by a friend. The impetus behind the lyric revision was the idea that protestants who have theological qualms about the original Ave Maria lyrics but love the music now have an option – not one that takes issue with the traditional version in any way, but rather simply offers an alternative that focuses on the Christ rather than his mother.
Not being a student of Latin, I don’t have a great feel for how well they sing, but I suspect most who would like to employ them will simply be happy to have a Latin lyric with theology they are comfortable with, and I consider that a win – more singers will perhaps be comfortable singing this classic song. It remains to be seen how widespread its use might become.
Now I’m looking for just the right vocalist with classical leanings or abilities to sing it for us. Even though we offer no other vocal music at the moment, this would be an intriguing initial offering.