Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Ave Verum Corpus

Ave verum corpus' is a short Eucharistic hymn from the fourteenth century that has been set to music by various composers. In the Middle Ages it was sung at the elevation of the host after the consecration. It was also often sung at the blessing with the holy Sacrament. The text is attributed to Pope Innocent VI and is based on a poem from a fourteenth-century manuscript from the abbey of the island of Reichenau in Lake Constance. The poem is a meditation on the Catholic faith in Jesus' real presence in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his Ave verum corpus (KV 618) for his friend Anton Stoll who was a musical assistant in the parish of Baden near Vienna. It was written to celebrate the Feast of Sacrament Day.