Ave Maria - Hail Blessed Flower

Ave Maria, Hail Blessed Flower (Op. 17) was written in 1961, and premiered at Cirencester Grammar School. It is a simple Christmas carol for unaccompanied SATB choir. It uses the image of the Virgin Mary as adelicate flower without sin, reinforced by close-knit, ethereal harmonies.

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (b. 1934) is a British composer and conductor, who served as Master of the Queen’s Music from 2004 to 2014. He hasdeveloped from an enfant terrible in the 1960s to become one of the leading figures of the British musical establishment. In the intervening years, he has revolutionised contemporary music and helped re-defineBritishmusic.