Vox Maris
Encyclopedia
Vox maris is a symphonic poem
finished around 1954, by the Romanian composer
George Enescu
.
The poem is scored for a large orchestra
—quadruple woodwind, six horns, four trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, five percussionists, two harps, piano and strings—with an off-stage choir of sopranos, altos and tenors (no basses) and a tenor soloist, 'the voice of sailor'.
Essentially, Vox maris is a large scale, three-movement-in-one symphony, anchored to G major—but not so firmly as to preclude (almost as we can expect) a fluid tonal basis.
The second part of Vox maris begins with a calmer mood but soon starts rising in tone. Enescu exerts tonal control by rising by semitones; the climax is itself centered upon G—as though the very depths of ocean are moved by the powerful forces of the nature—and at the summit the choir, making its first entry, cries out in despair, with four thunderous crashes from double timpani. The voice of the sailor calls for boat to be launched, but again the chorus cried out, more fearfully and tragically, as they seem to be engulfed by the forces around them, literally so as a lone soprano cries 'Miserere, Domine!' before the wind machines blow across the texture for the first time.
The image fades, and the music gradually, but quite soon, becomes calmer at the same time as retaining its essential fluidity. The storm has passed but the human voices have more than suggested some fearful event has occurred. The tonality now lands on G sharp—so near, and yet so far—as the last great part begins. It is as if the lower voices intone a blurred requiem, made more mysterious in an extraordinary passage for wordless female voices, solo strings, piano, celeste and percussion: a fabric of diffused colour and light, which tonally now falls to G minor. A shaft of light brings a falsely-related G, a little uncertainly, at last, into which quietly deep region the music descends, across no less than five percussion players to the lowest orchestral of all—the bass of the piano.
Enescu did not live to hear his final masterpiece in concert: the première was given in Bucharest
, in September 1964.
Symphonic poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music in a single continuous section in which the content of a poem, a story or novel, a painting, a landscape or another source is illustrated or evoked. The term was first applied by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt to his 13 works in this vein...
finished around 1954, by the Romanian composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
George Enescu
George Enescu
George Enescu was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher.-Biography:Enescu was born in the village of Liveni , Dorohoi County at the time, today Botoşani County. He showed musical talent from early in his childhood. A child prodigy, Enescu created his first musical...
.
The poem is scored for a large orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
—quadruple woodwind, six horns, four trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, five percussionists, two harps, piano and strings—with an off-stage choir of sopranos, altos and tenors (no basses) and a tenor soloist, 'the voice of sailor'.
Essentially, Vox maris is a large scale, three-movement-in-one symphony, anchored to G major—but not so firmly as to preclude (almost as we can expect) a fluid tonal basis.
The second part of Vox maris begins with a calmer mood but soon starts rising in tone. Enescu exerts tonal control by rising by semitones; the climax is itself centered upon G—as though the very depths of ocean are moved by the powerful forces of the nature—and at the summit the choir, making its first entry, cries out in despair, with four thunderous crashes from double timpani. The voice of the sailor calls for boat to be launched, but again the chorus cried out, more fearfully and tragically, as they seem to be engulfed by the forces around them, literally so as a lone soprano cries 'Miserere, Domine!' before the wind machines blow across the texture for the first time.
The image fades, and the music gradually, but quite soon, becomes calmer at the same time as retaining its essential fluidity. The storm has passed but the human voices have more than suggested some fearful event has occurred. The tonality now lands on G sharp—so near, and yet so far—as the last great part begins. It is as if the lower voices intone a blurred requiem, made more mysterious in an extraordinary passage for wordless female voices, solo strings, piano, celeste and percussion: a fabric of diffused colour and light, which tonally now falls to G minor. A shaft of light brings a falsely-related G, a little uncertainly, at last, into which quietly deep region the music descends, across no less than five percussion players to the lowest orchestral of all—the bass of the piano.
Enescu did not live to hear his final masterpiece in concert: the première was given in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, in September 1964.