Meeres Stille und Glückliche Fahrt
Arrangement for chamber orchestra (arr. U. Stäuble) op. 112, 1815/2025
Ludwig van Beethoven’s Meeres Stille und Glückliche Fahrt (Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage), Op. 112, is for four-part choir and symphony orchestra. This setting of a pair of poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe can most easily be described as a choral ode. First performed in 1815, it continues to impress today with its evocative power.
Although Beethoven himself never left dry land, he successfully creates an impressive portrayal of seafaring: the oppressive calm – synonymous in the age of sailing with immobility and dwindling food supplies – is conjured up by low-register choral passages with washes of pianissimo strings. At the words “ungeheuren Weite” (“immense vastness”), the listener is surprised by a sudden forte crescendo spanning more than five octaves. This contrasts with the “Glückliche Fahrt” (“prosperous voyage”) with its restless compound meters and flowing diatonic scales to express confidence and happy excitement.
This arrangement for chamber orchestra allows smaller choirs and those with limited space or financial resources to set sail. The piano score and choral score from the original edition (Carus 10.395/00) can be used. For a balanced orchestral sound, it is recommended that the string parts be performed not by solo instruments but as 4 (3) / 4 (3) / 2 / 2 / 1.
| Original version | Arrangement for chamber orchestra |
| Coro SATB, 2 Fl, 2 Ob, 2 Clt, 2 Fg, 4 Cor, 2 Tr, Timp, 2 Vl, Va, Vc, Cb | Coro SATB, Fl, Ob, Clt, Fg, Cor, Tr, Timp, 2 Vl, Va, Vc, Cb |
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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
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Songwriter / Librettist
Johann Wolfgang Goethe
| -1832Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is today a dazzling figure in world literature. He was born in Frankfurt am Main and initially studied law, but then followed his inclination towards poetry. With the drama Götz von Berlechingen and the epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther, he made important contributions to the literary movement of Sturm und Drang.
From 1775 onwards, Goethe was employed at the court of Duke Carl August in Weimar. In addition to his work at court as a minister and director of the Weimar Court Theatre, he wrote his major works here, including the drama Faust, other novels and many poems, which are still a source of inspiration for musical adaptations today. His poems were a source of inspiration for composers, especially in the 19th century, such as Franz Schubert. Schubert alone set 52 of Goethe's works to music, the best known of which are probably the songs Gretchen am Spinnrade and Erlkönig. Goethe also became acquainted with several composers of the time. He was particularly enthusiastic about the young Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, who also set Goethe's lines to music in the ballad Die erste Walpurgisnacht (The First Walpurgis Night). Personal details
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Arranger
Urs Stäuble
| 1951Urs Stäuble studied at the Conservatory of the Music Academy in Basel (organ with Eduard Müller, piano with Klaus Linder) and at the University of Music in Vienna (organ with Michael Radulescu, orchestral conducting with Karl Österreicher, choral conducting with Günther Theuring). In addition to teaching at the Basel Music Academy (1980–2016), he worked as an organist and choir and orchestra conductor in various European countries and Australia. Personal details
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Frequent questions about this work
Can the string parts of the original version (Carus 10.395/00) also be used for the arrangement?
Can I also use the “normal” vocal score /03 and the choral score /05 from the full-scale version to sing the version presented here?
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