Franz Biebl

Franz Xaver Biebl(1 September 1906 – 2 October 2001) was a German composer of classical music. Most of his compositions were forchoralensembles.

Biebl was born inPursruck,now part ofFreudenberg, Bavaria,in 1906. He studied composition at the Musikhochschule inMunich.Biebl served as choir director at theCatholic churchof St Maria in München-Thalkirchen from 1932 until 1939, and as an assistant professor of choral music at theMozarteum,an academy of music inSalzburg,Austria,beginning in 1939, where he taught voice andmusic theory.

Biebl was drafted into the military beginning in 1943 duringWorld War II.He was a prisoner of war from 1944 to 1946, being detained atFort CusterinBattle Creek, Michigan.After the war, he moved from Austria toFürstenfeldbruck,Germany, where he served as director of the town chorus.

Ave Maria

Main article:Ave Maria (Biebl)

Biebl's best-known work is hisAve Maria,which sets portions of theAngelusas well as theAve Maria.The piece was composed sometime before 1 May 1959.The original composition was in the key of D major, but changed to C major when it was published by Wildt's Musikverlag in 1964.The piece was brought to the United States by theCornell University Glee Clubin 1970. The ensemble met Biebl while on tour in Germany, during a recording session at a radio network where Biebl was music director. ConductorThomas A. Sokolwas given a number of Biebl's works, premiering them after returning home.TheAve Mariaquickly gained popularity, most notably after becoming part of the repertoire ofChanticleer.Although theAve Mariawas originally scored for male voices (TTB/TTBB), in 1985 Biebl prepared additional arrangements for SAT/SATB(in B flat major) and SAA/TTBB choirs.In 1998, Biebl prepared a fourth arrangement for SSA/SSAA choir.As part of the Hinshaw Music, Inc. sheet music catalog, the four versions have sold over 670,000 copies between 1992 and 2016.

External links

• Matthew Oltman,The Iconic One-Hit Wonder: The History and Reception of Franz Biebl's Ave Maria,University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2017 (visited 2 August 2017)
• Outstanding Features of Franz Biebl's Worksat theWayback Machine(archived 16 July 2011)
• Index of Biebl's principal works(Archive from 16 July 2011)
• Recording of Biebl'sAve Mariaby Chanticleer(click PLAY button on "Sample Clip" )