“Ave Maris Stella, in its construction, mimics the flow of tides, both in smaller phrases, and in the overall layout of the music. The aquatic nature of the music lends itself to the description of the Virgin Mary as the ‘star of the sea’ in the first words of the piece. The primary and secondary themes of the piece, while simple and similar to one another, receive new treatment each time they emerge, mirroring the complexity of tidal motion. These themes are largely delineated by the way they treat the musical meter.

In stanzas where the text addresses matters of the world, such as the initial hailing of Mary, the pleas to be free from evil and sin, and the final praising, the meter changes frequently. This imitates the manner in which waves become less predictable as they approach shore. In return, stanzas that center on more heavenly matters, such as references to angels and Christ, have a more predictable 4/4 meter, as the waves of the deeper ocean flow more rhythmically and serenely. The end result has the piece orbiting between the ‘shore’ and the ‘deep sea’, following the text’s own orbit between earth and heaven respectively.”