Schubert never met goethe, but he was the poet the. The mendelssohn who wrote calm sea and prosperous voyage 1828 was a landlubber, as yet lacking the firsthand nautical experience that informed the hebrides overture 1830. Mendelssohns calm sea and prosperous voyage has always seemed a poor cousin to his more popular hebrides overture, despite its literary credentials. Calm at sea the prosperous voyage consistent with the original work, this page includes an additional untitled poem. He would exploit for his composition another poem, gluckliche fahrt prosperous voyage, a poem that goethe wrote right after his meeresstille. Gluckliche fahrt prosperous voyage, a poem that goethe wrote right. The mist is torn away, the heavens turn bright, and aeolus unfastens the bonds of fear. Two poems, one piece, the settings are respectively enthralled and hesitant, then energised and. I find the cantata nice, the first half emanating the german choral glow and the second with a rousing beethoven finish, but not particularly memorable. Calm sea and prosperous voyage london concert choir. The prosperous voyage consistent with the original work, this page includes an additional untitled poem. Calm at sea the prosperous voyage courage my only property admonition old age epitaph rules for monarchs paulo post futuri the fools epilogue.
Goethes two short 1795 poems, calm sea and the prosperous voyage, inspired several composers, among them beethoven and mendelssohn. Calm sea and prosperous voyage indianapolis symphony orchestra. Calm sea and prosperous voyage restores to the literary canon an extraordinarily gifted writer, who was recognized as a major talent before all but disappearing from public view for decades, until nearly the end of her life. Beethoven wrote his piece for chorus and orchestra. His other compositions inspired by goethe include the overture calm sea and prosperous voyage op. The mendelssohn quotations performed by the clarinet portray the deathly stillness of the sea as described by goethe in his poem calm sea and prosperous voyage. The first performance was given on december 25, 1815, in vienna. Back before boats had engines, a totally still sea was alarming.
Silence deep rules oer the waters, calmly slumbring lies the main, while the sailor views with trouble. In the mighty waste of oceansunk to rest is evry wave. Yet immediately, as early as the third line, the apparent serenity deep calmness reigns over the waters, without motion rests the sea, will be. Apr 25, 20 each turned to a great poet, goethe and whitman, respectively, to depict the sea as a symbol of the unity of the worlds peoples and ocean travel as a metaphor for mankinds journey of selfdiscovery. Calm sea and prosperous voyage mendelssohn wikipedia. Composed in 1815, first performed at the great redoutensaal in vienna on christmas day of that year, and published feb. Calm sea and prosperous voyage elgars enigmas exposed. Beethovens opus 112, 18141815 schuberts song calm sea 1815 and mendelssohns overture opus 27, 1828, revised in 1834. These two short poems were composed at least as early as 1795, when schiller published them, though perhaps a bit earlier. The sea voyage the eagle and dove prometheus ganymede the boundaries of humanity the godlike. The two lesser known beethoven works were both well performed, particularly calm sea and prosperous voyage, based on poetry of goethe. Beethoven in fact never voyaged by sea, but his composition, premiered in 1815, continues to surprise.
Instead, he responded to goethes pair of pithy, potent poems, previously the subject of beethovens op. Calm sea and prosperous voyage by ludwig van beethoven. In 1815, when mendelssohn was just 6, beethoven had composed a cantata for choir and orchestra using the texts of two poems by goethe. It was composed in 1828 and inspired by a pair of poems calm sea and prosperous voyage by goethe, who very much liked young mendelssohns orchestral setting. Silence deep rules oer the waters,calmly slumbring lies the main,while the sailor views with troublenought but one vast level plain. Beethoven and mendelssohn both took inspiration from goethe s poem, calm sea and prosperous voyage beethoven with a choral piece and mendelssohn with an overture. The same poems were used by beethoven to produce a short choral work with the same title. Calm sea and prosperous voyage, a poem by goethe, which has been set to music by two great masters. Beethoven admired him and the work is dedicated to goethe. Meeresstille calm sea could lead us rapidly to an impression of. The concert will open with a performance of beethovens calm sea and prosperous voyage. The first was entitled calm at sea, and the second, the prosperous voyage. Jun 26, 2010 goethe vertonungen goethe settings mendelssohn. Incidentally, beethoven actually knew goethe well and had admired goethes poetry since his youth.
The image that goethe presents is a masterful study in contradictions. Between 1828 and 1833 mendelssohn wrote three overtures, each with sea connotations. If we have inadvertently included a ed poem that the holder does not wish to be displayed, we will take the poem down within 48 hours upon notification by the owner or the. He wasnt the only one to be inspired by these works. Silence deep rules oer the waters, calmly slumbring lies the main. The first half tells of a sailor observing a calm sea with no wind to move his boat.
Apr 15, 2010 beautiful ouverture from mendelssohn based on the poem by goethe. Goethes two short 1795 poems, calm sea and the prosperous voyage, inspired several composers, among them beethoven and. Silence deep rules oer the waterscalmly slumbring lies the main. America, youve got it better amerika, du hast es besser becalmed at sea meerestille tr. Mendelssohn wrote this concert overture, titled calm sea and prosperous voyage and based on two of goethes poems the poems appear. Mendelssohn overture calm sea and prosperous voyage. Afterwards, mendelssohn played bach fugues and improvised. For mendelssohn, the attraction lay in writing a musical representation of the complete stillness and the gradual picking up of the wind that brings the ship safely into port. The first poem, meeres stille, tells of the dread and deathly stillness of a becalmed sea. Its heavenly, peaceful introduction, inspired by the first poem, describes the smooth stillness of the becalmed sea.
In this second poem, goethe called upon his reading of homers odysseus. Apr 11, 20 the prosperous voyage consistent with the original work, this page includes an additional untitled poem. The elegisher gesang is a personal favourite, tuneful and far gentler than most all of beethovens work, but very suitable for what it is. Calm sea and prosperous voyage indianapolis symphony.
Sea pictures program notes sonoma county philharmonic. But the fear associated with the calm sea gives way to joy as a mist is dispelled and the wind kicks up. Joy explanation of an antique gem catpie legend authors the critic the dilettante and the critic the wrangler the yelpers the storks vocation celebrity playing at priests songs poetry. All in all, buy it for the mass in c, but enjoy all of it. He came, on his fathers side, of thuringian stock, his greatgrandfather, hans christian goethe, having been a farrier at. Chicago symphony orchestra riccardo muti zell music director. One hundred twentyfourth season chicago symphony orchestra. Each turned to a great poet, goethe and whitman, respectively, to depict the sea as a symbol of the unity of the worlds peoples and ocean travel as a metaphor for mankinds journey of selfdiscovery. The tension is finally dispelled when land is sighted. Youd be forgiven for assuming that calm sea and prosperous voyage mean moreorless the same. Two years later, in 1828, mendelssohn composed calm sea and prosperous voyage. Two poems by goethe, the rst titled calm at sea and the second titled prosperous voyage, were the source for three 19th century settings. Beethovens choral fantasy and mass in c major orchestra.
Feb 05, 2014 goethe s two short 1795 poems, calm sea and the prosperous voyage, inspired several composers, among them beethoven and mendelssohn. This is the fourth of mendelssohns seven overtures and was written before the similarly maritime hebrides overture, op. Beautiful ouverture from mendelssohn based on the poem by goethe. The second, gluckliche fahrt, evokes the joy and release from fear at the arrival of the winds so vital for a prosperous voyage. Schubert, beethoven, and others had already been attracted by goethes poetic depiction of a deathly still sea. Mendelssohn overture calm sea and prosperous voyage notes. Mendelssohn intended that these three works be published as a set with a single opus number and in 1834 revised calm sea for that purpose. Beethoven and mendelssohn both took inspiration from goethes poem, calm sea and prosperous voyage beethoven with a choral piece and mendelssohn with an overture. The work was published in 1822, with a dedication to the poet. They walked together in goethes garden in weimar and then had dinner.