Beethoven’s Meeres Stille und Glückliche Fahrt (Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage) op. 112 for four-part mixed chorus and symphony orchestra – his setting of a pair of poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe – defies straightforward categorization, but can best be described as a choral ode. Beethoven in fact never voyaged by sea, but his composition, premiered in 1815, continues to surprise even today.
He depicted in music the smooth surface of the motionless water and the oppressive calm, which meant nothing other than being becalmed, a delayed voyage, and short rations in the era of sailing, with the same intensity as a freshening increasing wind, with which Aeolus, the God of the winds, ultimately enabled the longed-for "prosperous voyage" to take place. The composed calmness of the motionless sea is conveyed in the low register used throughout, in which the chorus sings the first poem accompanied by washes of pianissimo sounds on the strings. There is a surprising moment with the musical portrayal of the "ungeheuere Weite" (immense breadth), at which the vocal-instrumental writing suddenly crescendos to forte and unfolds into a texture of over five octaves. By contrast "Glückliche Fahrt" is written in restlessly-compiled meters, whose musical setting in flowing movement with diatonic scale passages evokes happy excitement and confidence. The work was dedicated to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, whom Beethoven greatly admired throughout his life.
The work has now been published in a new critical edition based on the first printed edition and the performance score which Beethoven himself checked and corrected.
-
Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven
| 1770-1827Ludwig van Beethoven was without doubt one of the most influential composers in the history of music. His works formed the culmination of many genres – particularly instrumental – of Viennese classicism, and laid the foundation for the following decades. But Beethoven’s vocal works set standards too: the late Missa Solemnis is one of the most impressive choral works of its time; but his earlier Mass in C also opens up new worlds of expression for the liturgical text, and set the benchmark for the further development in the composition of the mass. And with the final chorus of the Ninth Symphony, the setting of Schiller’s Ode to Joy, Beethoven created one of the most frequently-performed and best known choral pieces of all, writing a timeless musical memorial to himself. Personal details
-
Editor
Sven Hiemke
Reviews
... Jedenfalls ist hier eine präzise edierte Urtext-Edition vorhanden...
Gustav Danzinger, CHOR aktuell, 4/2019
.... Das ... Stück dauert ca. acht Minuten und besticht durch die eindrucksvolle Vertonung der dem Text innewohnenden Kontraste.
Andreas Peterl, Singende Kirche, 2/19
... Das Gelegenheitsvverk eignet sich durch seine weltliche Vorlage in erster Linie für profane Anlässe in Verbindung mit anderen Beethoven-Werken wie etwa der „Chorphantasie“ oder anderen orchesterbegleiteten Chorvverken aus dem weltlichen Bereich. mk
Kirchenmusikalische Mitteilungen der Erzdiözese Freiburg, Mai 2019
... Carus punktet mit dem sehr guten Vorwort des Herausgebers Sven Hiemke, dessen Texte man immer mit Freuden liest.
Roman Emilius, Gottesdienst und Kirchenmusik, 06/2020