The titles of Goethe's two poems are not synonymous: in the days before steam, a totally calm sea was cause for alarm; it is only when the wind at last rises that the ship can continue on its journey.[1]
Mendelssohn described his interpretation of Goethe’s calm sea as: “a pitch gently sustained by the strings for a long while hovers here and there and trembles, barely audible... The whole stirs sluggishly from the passage with heavy tedium. Finally, it comes to a halt with thick chords and the Prosperous Voyage sets out.” Goethe’s lively winds that then hasten the ship into view of land are depicted with “all the wind instruments, the timpani, oboes and flutes.. playing merrily to the end.”[2]
The overture concludes with a fanfare of trumpets suggesting the ship's final arrival at its port of destination.
Scored for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, double bassoon, serpent, 2 horns, 3 trumpets, timpani and strings,[3] the piece is programmatic for its reference of the two poems by Goethe. These two poems were extremely popular, and at the time of the premiere, Mendelssohn could have assumed that the audience would have been familiar with both poems and able to follow the programme of the music with minimal aid. The work is a concert overture - meaning that it is not intended as a prelude to a larger work such as an opera (as 'overture', deriving from the French for 'opening', more often implies). Instead, the piece is performed as an independent piece in a symphonic concert. The term overture here refers to the use of melody and form. However, it could also be considered as an early form of tone poem.
Edward Elgar quotes a theme from the overture in the 13th variation of his Enigma Variations to represent one of his "friends pictured within" on a ship bound for New Zealand.
Referencesedit
^Horton, Scott (1 Feb 2009). "Goethe's Quiet Sea". Browsings: The Harper's Blog. Harper’s Magazine Foundation. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
calm, prosperous, voyage, mendelssohn, this, article, about, orchestral, work, composed, felix, mendelssohn, similarly, named, orchestral, work, beethoven, meeresstille, glückliche, fahrt, beethoven, calm, prosperous, voyage, meeresstille, glückliche, fahrt, o. This article is about the orchestral work composed by Felix Mendelssohn For the similarly named orchestral work by Beethoven see Meeresstille und gluckliche Fahrt Beethoven Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage Meeresstille und gluckliche Fahrt Op 27 is an orchestral concert overture by Felix Mendelssohn inspired by the same pair of poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe that inspired Beethoven s 1815 cantata of the same title and in the same key D major Mendelssohn s work was first performed on 7 September 1828 in Berlin Meeresstille und gluckliche FahrtCalm Sea and Prosperous VoyageConcert overture by Felix MendelssohnThe composer in 1833 drawing by Eduard BendemannKeyD majorOpus27Based ontwo poems by GoethePerformed7 September 1828 1828 09 07 BerlinPublished1835 1835 The titles of Goethe s two poems are not synonymous in the days before steam a totally calm sea was cause for alarm it is only when the wind at last rises that the ship can continue on its journey 1 Mendelssohn described his interpretation of Goethe s calm sea as a pitch gently sustained by the strings for a long while hovers here and there and trembles barely audible The whole stirs sluggishly from the passage with heavy tedium Finally it comes to a halt with thick chords and the Prosperous Voyage sets out Goethe s lively winds that then hasten the ship into view of land are depicted with all the wind instruments the timpani oboes and flutes playing merrily to the end 2 The overture concludes with a fanfare of trumpets suggesting the ship s final arrival at its port of destination Scored for piccolo 2 flutes 2 oboes 2 clarinets 2 bassoons double bassoon serpent 2 horns 3 trumpets timpani and strings 3 the piece is programmatic for its reference of the two poems by Goethe These two poems were extremely popular and at the time of the premiere Mendelssohn could have assumed that the audience would have been familiar with both poems and able to follow the programme of the music with minimal aid The work is a concert overture meaning that it is not intended as a prelude to a larger work such as an opera as overture deriving from the French for opening more often implies Instead the piece is performed as an independent piece in a symphonic concert The term overture here refers to the use of melody and form However it could also be considered as an early form of tone poem Edward Elgar quotes a theme from the overture in the 13th variation of his Enigma Variations to represent one of his friends pictured within on a ship bound for New Zealand References edit Horton Scott 1 Feb 2009 Goethe s Quiet Sea Browsings The Harper s Blog Harper s Magazine Foundation Retrieved 13 August 2019 Read Amber 2022 Chopin and Schumann Programme Notes Auckland Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn Meeresstille und gluckliche Fahrt Op 27 IMSLP a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link CS1 maint numeric names authors list link External links editMeeresstille und gluckliche Fahrt Op 27 Scores at the International Music Score Library Project New Mendelssohn Discoveries in the Music Division NYPL 2013 nbsp This article about a classical composition is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage Mendelssohn amp oldid 1193191953, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
