'Ave Maria' (Hail Mary) by Franz Schubert is one of his many exquisite musical gifts to the world.This 'Ave Maria' is a simple moving piece which is universally known and loved and was composed in about 1825 when Schubert was twenty-eight years old. That was only three years before his death at the young age of 31. It is part of a setting of several songs Schubert wrote for Sir Walter Scott's 'Lady of the Lake'.