The epic Sea Symphony by Ralph Vaughan Williams is my last big project of the season, with a performance for Cambridge Summer Music at Saffron Hall with Cambridge Philharmonic on Sunday 5th July.
As a symphony, it stands out. It’s choral for a start, with powerful washes of sound and texture that range from barren Brittenesque soundscapes to jaunty sea shanties. There are vivid depictions of maritime life, from ships at sea, to tempestuous waves, to a reflective night alone on the beach.
The music captures brilliantly the power of the sea, and the energy of something that’s far greater and stronger than any of us. The lyrics hint of this:
Thou sea that pickest and cullest the race in time, and unitest nations,
Suckled by thee, old husky nurse, embodying thee,
Indomitable, untamed as thee.
The last movement of the work is a standalone epic; titled ‘The Explorers’, it takes all the seaworthy tone-poemy colour of the previous movements, and projects it into a vision of a sea voyage as a metaphor for the journey of life.
The lyrics seem to me to have a quasi-religious sense of faith in the power of our natural world:
Thou matest Time, smilest content at Death,
And fillest, swellest full the vastnesses of Space.
Greater than stars or suns,
Bounding O soul thou journeyest forth
For me, bigger questions start to emerge…
How can we take joy in sailing into the unknown?
Can we feel safe in uncharted waters?
What should we be seeking in our vast, expansive world?
The irony isn’t lost on me that whilst human beings have ‘optimised’ many planetary ecosystems to the point of possible breakdown, the vast majority of our oceans remain unknown and unexplored. There are worlds of complexity far bigger and more sophisticated than any human being currently understands.
I think the Sea Symphony is inviting us to be brave, go forth, and place our trust in forces bigger than us.
It’s risky, but I like it.
Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.
Sea Symphony at Saffron Hall, Saffron Walden on Sunday 5th July at 4pm. Tickets from Saffron Hall Box Office.
