The Power of the Megatsunami

The word ‘tsunami’ is of Japanese origin. When you look it up in a dictionary, you will find that it means ‘a great sea wave produced by submarine earth movement or volcanic eruption’.
A megatsunami is the superlative of this awesome expression of power that nature can create, and has catastrophic consequences.

When Carl Wittrock completed this composition not many such big earth movements had occurred, but since then we have become all too familiar with the disastrous consequences which a tsunami may have.
On the 26th of December 2004 a heavy seaquake took place near the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Tidal waves 10 meters in height ravaged the coastal regions ofmany countries for miles around. The tsunami took the lives of thousands of people and destroyed many villages and towns.

There are more areas which run the risk of being struck by a tsunami, such as the island of La Palma, one of the Canary Islands. This island is based on oceanic crust at a fracture zone and as such is one of nature’s time bombs. The consequences of a natural calamity like a megatsunami are immense.
In the case of La Palma, the tidal wave will move in the direction of South America, where it may reach 50 km inland, destroying everything on its way.

In his composition Wittrock describes an ordinary day which will have an unexpected ending.
Right from the beginning there seems to be something in the air, the music creating an oppressive atmosphere of impending disaster.
Themes are interrupted, broken off suddenly, followed by silence, suggesting the calm before the storm.
Suddenly a short climax (glissandi in the trombone part) indicates the seaquake, and the megatsunami is a fact. Hereafter follows a turbulent passage symbolising the huge rolling waves.
After nature’s force has spent itself, resignation sets in and the composition ends with a majestic ode to nature.