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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.

  1. 'Behold the Sea, itself’
  2. 'On the Beach at Night Alone’
  3. ‘The Waves’
  4. 'The Explorers'
Listen to 'The Waves'

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. 

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