Biebl was the organist and choir master of a parish in Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria, and of a men's chorus there, for which he composed many works and arrangements.

[1]: 16  On a 1970 tour in Germany, the Cornell University Glee Club from the U.S. met Biebl, who was working for the broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk and responsible for choral music.

Conductor Thomas A. Sokol received several of Biebl's compositions, which he performed in the U.S.[2] When the Chanticleer vocal ensemble made Ave Maria part of their repertoire, it gained popularity.

[1]: 2  They first performed it in a charity event on 4 December 1989 at the City Hall in San Francisco, then presented it in subsequent Christmas concerts and included it in their tour program the next year.

[1]: 40 The text is the beginning of the Latin Catholic liturgical Angelus prayer, three verses based on biblical sources, with the Ave Maria as a refrain.

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum, benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.

[4] Wilbur Skeels – who published some of Biebl's other works – prepared the following information about the piece for use in choral program notes.

The result was the Ave Maria (double male choir version).The piece gained practically no attention in Germany for many years.

Biebl uses the source text of the traditional Angelus nearly exactly, adding the words "Maria dixit" to the beginning of the second versicle, and omitting the second half of the first two Hail Mary's.

[6] The text sung in Biebl's composition is as follows: Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae The Angel of the Lord announced to Mary Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto.

Maria dixit: Mary said: Ecce ancilla Domini Behold the handmaiden of the Lord Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum.

According to normal practice in classical sacred composition, Biebl has not set the text of the closing versicle and prayer of the 'Angelus' to music.

The San Francisco Renegades[7][8] and the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps[9] arranged the work for brass band.

Specifically, the San Francisco Renegades, an all-age Drum and Bugle Corps, first adapted sections of Biebl's Ave Maria in their 2003 show: "Red Skies At Night".

Both drum and bugle corps continue to perform Franz Biebl's Ave Maria as part of their yearly repertoire.

In 2009–10, an arrangement of the Ave Maria for wind ensemble was the subject of litigation that reached the United States Supreme Court.