The existence of Ave Maria, H 59, is mentioned only in Šafránek's monograph and in Bohuslav Martinů's 1914 handwritten inventory of his compositions (MarBo1914), but the composition has probably not survived.
Together with the Offertorium, H 59, and the Romance for violin and piano, H 12, the inventory lists the village of Smiřice as the place of composition. Martinů came to Smiřice to visit his friend Stanislav Novák and his family (mostly in summer, from about 1906, when he and Stanislav met at the Prague Conservatory, until Martinů left for Paris in 1923). Stáňa Novák's father was then regenschori of the local church, and it is therefore possible that the Offertorium and Ave Maria were intended for the church in Smiřice. This is also confirmed by Karel Novák's 1959 memoirs (NovK 1959-00-00), where he recalls that Martinů composed "interludes for masses for his father".
Jana Burdová, 2024