This is a transcription of Saint-Saëns' vocal work adapted for the piano. It features a lush, harmonic texture that highlights the composer's characteristic melodic grace.
The primary challenge is maintaining a consistent, vocal-like melodic line against moving inner voices.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Ave Maria in A (1860) is rated Henle level 4 of 9 — intermediate repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 5–6. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 6.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 4 — meaning you can already play level 3–4 pieces cleanly. Learning it one level early is possible as a stretch piece, but more than that usually leads to months of frustration.
A typical performance of Ave Maria in A (1860) lasts about 3 minutes.
Ave Maria in A (1860) is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.
Pieces at a comparable difficulty and character include Bourrée by Camille Saint-Saëns, Ballade by Louis Ehlert, Berceuse by Emil Wiegand — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.