Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage (Mendelssohn)

Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage op.27 (MWV P 5) is a concert overture by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. It is based on the poems Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Mendelssohn conducted the first public performance on December 1, 1832 in the Sing- Akademie zu Berlin, before he revised the work and this was printed in 1835 together with the Hebrides and the Overture from A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The two Goethe poems also served Ludwig van Beethoven as the basis for his cantata Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage.

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About the Music

The Calm Sea describes Mendelssohn by an Adagio in D major, consisting of string chords. Molto allegro vivace A ( also in D Major ) describes the wind that now drives the ship, and the arrival in port.

• Overture
• Work by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
• Works by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe