My husband and I listen to this all the time .. whatever
version is your preference, you can probably find it on this
album. Excellent.

This beautiful aria is interpreted 16 ways by several renown singers and composers, so I'm sure you'll find your own personal favorites among the different versions. Each rendition has its own descriptor, and I found myself thinking "riveting", "exhilerating", "captivating", "evocative", "inspiring", or even "heartbreaking" for the same compelling music. To me, even the old fashioned, ragged recordings herein had a certain charm, and I don't mind the 'scratchiness' at all. I believe my Dad would sing Franz Schubert's 'Ave Maria' as interpreted by tenor Jerry Hadley -- I swear it literally brought tears to my eyes when I first heard it. As a child, I remember the delight I took in hearing my Dad sing with all the passion and drama of an artiste -- and you know, for a man who didn't even know all the lyrics, he sounded pretty darn good in our old bathroom! Seriously, this is a wonderful collection, even without the reminiscent sentimentality. I highly recommend it.

3 years ago I was severely injured and paralyzed. While in intensive care, after my days that were filled with pain and fear, I would listen to this CD in the dark still of the night. It brought great comfort. I have made a rather miraculous recovery and have a wonderful new little daughter. She loves to listen to the CD with a bottle as she is going to sleep.

I was so disappointed with this CD. At least 6 of the songs were recorded from VERY OLD albums....scratches and all! They were SO bad. I play two of the songs over and over...the only two I liked. When I read the other reviews and there was mention of leaving out some of the songs, I assumed that they meant doubles of the same song....I was wrong. I don't know WHY they had to add the scratchy music..a filler? I would quickly skip to another song...only to have to "skip" many times!!

I read the other reviews, and I agree...some of the versions could be skipped. However, that is the only bad thing I will say about this CD! The other songs definitely are worth purchasing this.

Before I bought this CD through a book club, I had only known of the Schubert version. Having heard all, now I love the Verdi one, and when Price sings it, it brings tears to my eyes. Ricciarelli's Verdi is also nice. If you are wanting music to make your spirit soar, this is a great CD. It's also an excellent selection for a gift for someone with spiritual and classical or opera music leanings. I hope you enjoy it!

I was looking for something special two Christmases ago and found this nestled between rare classical CDs in our local shoppe. I listened to the selections, the artists and the expressive interpretations of the AVE MARIA aria by those composers (Verdi, Gounod, Bach, Schubert). I also found the voices of Price, MacDonald, Domingo, Lanza, Ponselle, Vaness, Caruso, Anderson, McCormack and Hadley totally unique to their personalities, their time and their idea of how to express love for Mary, the Mother of Jesus, for whom this timeless aria was written. Bravo!

Some of the performances were quite nice, who wouldn't like Leotyne Price or Placido Domingo singing this wonderful genre of songs. The Vaness piece from Othello was surprisingly beautiful and laced with emotion. At least a couple of other performers could have been dropped so that Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle's versions of Ave Maria could have been included.

What a great idea. The greatest song ever written performed by the great masters of music. This one is sure to bring a tear to your eye every time you listen to it. It is a great help for Christians wanting to develop a greater relationship with our mother, Mary. I recomend it highly to everyone who loves great music and loves our blessed mother.