Meeresstille & glückliche Fahrt

Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt ("Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage"), is a cantata for chorus and orchestra composed by Ludwig van Beethoven (op. 112), based on verses by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and dedicated to him. The work was first performed in Vienna in 1815 and first published in 1822. The piece is in a single movement, a typical performance usually taking between 7 and 8 minutes.

The cantata beautifully evokes the imagery of the pair of poems which later inspired a more famous concert overture by Mendelssohn. The poems' titles 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. The first section depicts a ship becalmed, the second its success in resuming its voyage.

Recordings

• Beethoven
  • John Eliot Gardiner, English Baroque Soloists: "Messe in C", Archiv Produktions
  • Robert Shaw, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus: "Beethoven: Mass in C, Elegiac Song & Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage", Telarc

See also

• Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt (Mendelssohn) - concert overture by Felix Mendelssohn