Bogoroditse Dyevo (Ave Maria)

Complete Performance Pack

Arranged for Ordinary SAB Choir with Piano or Organ

Designed for ordinary church, school and community choirs who love great sacred music but may not have the balanced SATB forces required by the original scoring.

Sergei Rachmaninoff's Bogoroditse Dyevo (Ave Maria) from the All-Night Vigil (Vespers) is one of the masterpieces of the Orthodox choral repertoire. Its rich harmonies and flowing melodic lines have inspired choirs for over a century.

This edition has been carefully arranged for SAB choir, preserving the warmth and sonority of Rachmaninoff's original while making it practical for today's church, school and community choirs.

Where the original harmony requires four independent vocal lines, an optional S2/A1 Divisi part recreates important inner harmonies using a balanced group of Second Sopranos and First Altos where choir numbers permit.

Arrangement Features

• Accessible SAB Voicing: Carefully adapted from the original SATB score into a practical and resonant SAB format.
• Preserved Harmonic Texture: Optional S2/A1 Divisi passages retain important inner harmonies without requiring a separate tenor section.
• Choice of Accompaniment: Includes both a piano-accompanied vocal score and a dedicated organ accompaniment with cue-sized choral staves. While traditionally performed a cappella, these accompaniments provide valuable support during rehearsal and performance where required.
• Accessible Church Slavonic: The vocal score uses a carefully prepared phonetic transcription, allowing English-speaking choirs to sing the original text confidently without requiring knowledge of the Cyrillic alphabet.
• Complete Performance Resources: Includes performance notes and rehearsal resources to help conductors and singers prepare the work with confidence.

What's Inside the Performance Pack?

Scores and Performance Materials

• Choral Score with Piano Accompaniment
• Organ Accompaniment with Cue-sized Choral Score
• Comprehensive Performance Notes

Rehearsal Resources (MP3)

• Soprano Rehearsal Track
• Alto Rehearsal Track
• Baritone Rehearsal Track
• S2/A1 Divisi Rehearsal Track
• Organ Backing Track

Performance Details

• Voicing: SAB Choir with optional S2/A1 Divisi
• Accompaniment: Piano or Organ
• Language: Church Slavonic (phonetic text included)
• Difficulty: Intermediate
• Duration: About 2 minutes
• Best Suited For: Worship, Marian Feasts, Sacred Concerts and Choral Festivals

Ensemble Licence Included

One purchase permits the purchasing organisation to print as many copies as required for use by one choir or ensemble, and to share the included digital resources privately with its current members for rehearsal and performance.

The music and accompanying resources may not be shared with another ensemble or organisation, resold, uploaded publicly, or otherwise redistributed. A separate licence is required for each ensemble using the music.

One purchase covers your entire choir.

“There is no reason why ordinary choirs should not sing extraordinary music.”