Franz Biebl facts for kids

Franz Xaver Biebl (born September 1, 1906 – died October 2, 2001) was a German composer. He wrote mostly classical music. Many of his pieces were for choirs, which are groups of singers.

Biebl was born in a place called Pursruck, which is now part of Freudenberg, Bavaria. He studied how to compose music at a special school in Munich. From 1932 to 1939, Biebl was a choir director at a church in Munich. After that, he became a professor in Salzburg, Austria, teaching singing and music theory.

During World War II, Biebl joined the military in 1943. He was held as a prisoner of war from 1944 to 1946 in Battle Creek, Michigan, in the United States. After the war, he moved to Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany. There, he became the director of the town's chorus.

Biebl's Famous Ave Maria

Franz Biebl's most famous song is his Ave Maria. This piece uses parts of two traditional prayers, the Angelus and the Ave Maria. He wrote this song sometime before 1959.

The original version of the song was in a musical key called D major. But when it was published in 1964, it was changed to C major.

How Ave Maria Became Popular

The Ave Maria became well-known in the United States in 1970. This happened when the Cornell University Glee Club, a male singing group, visited Germany. They met Biebl during a recording session. Biebl was a music director at a radio station then.

The conductor of the Glee Club, Thomas A. Sokol, was given some of Biebl's songs. When they returned home, they performed these songs for the first time. The Ave Maria quickly became very popular. It gained even more fame after the famous singing group Chanticleer started performing it.

Different Versions of the Song

The Ave Maria was first written for male voices. But in 1985, Biebl made new versions for mixed choirs. These versions allowed both male and female voices to sing the song. In 1998, he created a fourth version for all-female choirs.

These four versions of the Ave Maria have been very popular. Between 1992 and 2016, over 670,000 copies of the sheet music were sold.

See also

In Spanish: Franz Biebl para niños