With the possible exception of Mozart, no other composer in the history of music ever surpassed Franz Schubert's genius for melodic writing. His lieder (art songs for voice and piano) were composed at an astonishing rate, and number in the hundreds. Some of Vienna's greatest singers were his closest friends, and he took pleasure in creating his songs for them. One of his most well-known songs, Ave Maria, was composed in 1825 when he was 28 years old.

In my setting, I considered carefully the ...