Ave Maria
The Ave Maria is one of the most-set texts in Western vocal music. The first half is drawn from the Gospel of Luke; the second is a later petition added by the Church. Almost every setting uses ecclesiastical pronunciation regardless of when the music was composed.
Line-by-line IPA
Ave Maria, gratia plena,
[ˈa.vɛ maˈɾi.a | ˈɡɾa.tsi.a ˈplɛ.na]
Dominus tecum.
[ˈdɔ.mi.nus ˈtɛ.kum]
Benedicta tu in mulieribus,
[bɛ.nɛˈdik.ta tu in mu.liˈɛ.ɾi.bus]
et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.
[ɛt bɛ.nɛˈdik.tus ˈfɾuk.tus ˈvɛn.tɾis ˈtu.i | ˈjɛ.zus]
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei,
[ˈsaŋk.ta maˈɾi.a | ˈma.tɛɾ ˈdɛ.i]
ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
[ˈɔ.ɾa pɾɔ ˈnɔ.bis pɛk.kaˈtɔ.ɾi.bus]
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae.
[nuŋk ɛt in ˈɔ.ɾa ˈmɔɾ.tis ˈnɔs.tɾɛ]
Amen.
[ˈa.mɛn]
English translation
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Diction notes
- gratia — /ˈɡɾa.tsi.a/. The -ti- before a vowel takes /ts/, not /t/. Same pattern as letitia, justitia.
- hora — /ˈɔ.ɾa/. The h is silent. Start cleanly on the open /ɔ/ vowel; don't aspirate.
- Jesus — /ˈjɛ.zus/. Initial J is a consonantal /j/, and the medial s between vowels is voiced /z/.
- peccatoribus — /pɛk.kaˈtɔ.ɾi.bus/. The double cc is geminate — slightly lengthened. Don't collapse it to a single /k/.
- mortis nostrae — /ˈmɔɾ.tis ˈnɔs.tɾɛ/. The final -ae of nostrae is a single /ɛ/, not /eɪ/ or /ai̯/. Hold the vowel pure to the consonant.
- tecum, tui, mortis — Latin u is /u/ (pure, dark) and i is /i/ (pure, bright). Avoid the English diphthong drift toward /uw/ or /ij/.