First Performance
January 7, 2014
Arkas Trio
Sureyya Opera House
Kadikoy, Istanbul, Turkey
Instrumentation
violin, cello, piano
Duration
15'
Listen
Program Notes
Commissioned by Lucian Arkas for Arkas Trio, Fortuna Sepio Nos is dedicated to Lucien Arkas. It was composed in July and August 2013 in Memphis, USA. Its duration is approximately fifteen minutes. Fortuna was the goddess of fortune and luck in Roman times. She might bring good luck or bad, and came to represent life's capriciousness. She continued to exist in Christian popular imagination. The Wheel of Fortune is a reference to her, as the random and often ruinous turns of Fortune's Wheel are in fact inevitable, that even the most coincidental events are part of God's hidden plan which one should try not to change. Manuscripts, engravings, paintings and statues of Fortuna are numerous. Statues are still often found on ships. They are put on ships to wish for the best of luck from Fortuna, all along accepting the destiny that is already charted out for the vessel. Title of this work, Fortuna Sepio Nos, is in Latin and means "Fortuna protect (surround, enfold, cover, seal off) us". This title is meant to be a prayer for protection for sea travelers. Along with this prayer, the various trials, tribulations, wild and serene moments we experience on a sea journey are thought of. The overwhelming beauty, superiority and infinity of a grand body of water and the resulting awe and humbleness we are left with is what this work is about.
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