Ave Maria is originally for unaccompanied choir and transcribes beautifully for double bass octet, also playable by larger forces. The beautiful and slow moving harmonies create a work of great depth and sincerity, a work to display the rich sonority of the double bass octet, and would be suitable for any concert or recital. There are opportunities to develop useful ensemble skills and explore the lyrical and sonorous qualities of the double bass.

This arrangement was made on Saturday 27 April 2013 and performed the following day.

Anton Bruckner (4 September 1824 – 11 October 1896) was an Austrian composer known for his magnificent symphonies and sacred choral music. His symphonies are seen as the culmination of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, strongly polyphonic character, and considerable length. His music, most notably the symphonies, had detractors, especially the influential Austrian critic Eduard Hanslick, and other supporters of Johannes Brahms (and detractors of Wagner), who pointed to their large size, use of repetition, and Bruckner's propensity to revise many of his works, often with the assistance of colleagues, and his apparent indecision about which versions he preferred. On the other hand, Bruckner was greatly admired by subsequent composers, including his friend Gustav Mahler.

Bruckner's choral music is still popular into the 21st-century and displays a composer of great religious faith and understanding.