Ave Maris Stella, Op. 19b, B95A

This short song for a low-register voice and organ is set to a mediaeval Latin hymn text celebrating the Virgin Mary. Dvorak wrote the work on 4 September 1879 while staying with his friend Alois Gobl at Sychrov. The first performance probably took place on Dvorak’s 38th birthday, 8 September of that year, in the Sychrov castle chapel. The song was performed by the composer’s wife Anna, to whom it is dedicated, with the composer accompanying on the organ. The piece was published for the first time in 1883 by Prague publisher Emanuel Stary.