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Epic Oceans. Majestic waves. "Behold the Sea, itself."
A Sea Symphony by Ralph Vaughn Williams was inspired by the composer's fascination with mystical poems by the American poet Walt Whitman. Premiering in 1910, A Sea Symphony was an immediate success and can be considered the first truly choral symphony.
Setting lines from four sea poems, the piece is divided into four movements.
- 'Behold the Sea, itself’
- 'On the Beach at Night Alone’
- ‘The Waves’
- 'The Explorers'
Read the full programme note by Sarah Urwin Jones which delves into the sounds of A Sea Symphony.
The London Symphony Orchestra perform A Sea Symphony with the Edinburgh Festival Chorus on Thu 14 Aug 2025, 7.30pm at Usher Hall.
This concert also features Violin Concerto in D Major by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and the enlightening Nocturne for Orchestra by Elizabeth Maconchy, who was one of Vaughn Williams' students.