Which epic poem was "Ave Maria" loosely based on, which is used by Wilfred Jackson in Walt Disney's "Fantasia"?
Wilfred Jackson Wilfred Jackson (Chicago, Illinois, January 24, 1906 – Newport Beach, California, August 7, 1988) was an American animator, arranger, composer and director best known for his work on the "Mickey Mouse" and "Silly Symphonies" series of cartoons and the two segments "Night on Bald Mountain" and "Ave Maria" of "Fantasia" from Walt Disney Productions. He was also instrumental in developing the system with which Disney added music and sound to Steamboat Willie, the first Mickey Mouse cartoon. Several of the Silly Symphony shorts he directed, including "The Old Mill" (1937), won Academy Awards during the 1930s. Starting with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in 1937 he directed sequences in many of the major Disney animated features up to "Lady and the Tramp" in 1955, including all of the animated sequences in "Song of the South" (1946). He later moved into television, producing and directing for Disney's Disneyland series. After continuing health issues he retired in 1961. Wilfred Jackson died at age 82 in 1988.
They Call the Wind Maria "They Call the Wind Maria" is an American popular song with lyrics written by Alan J. Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe for their 1951 Broadway musical, "Paint Your Wagon", which is set in the California Gold Rush. Rufus Smith originally sang the song on Broadway, and Joseph Leader was the original singer in London's West End. It quickly became a runaway hit, and during the Korean War, the song was among the "popular music listened to by the troops". Vaughan Monroe and his Orchestra recorded the song in 1951, and it was among the "popular hit singles at the record stores" that year. It has since become a standard, performed by many notable singers across several genres of popular music. A striking feature of the song in the original orchestration (also used in many cover versions), is a driving, staccato rhythm, played on the string instruments, that evokes a sense of restless motion.