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Musical impressions of the sea


karelm

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Many composers have very interesting musical ideas of the sea...a domain of mystery, lore, life, and great danger. 

Herrmann:

 

Johnny Williams:

 

Atterberg:

 

Britten's Sea Interludes:

 

Frank Bridge:

 

Debussy La Mer:

 

John Luther Adams Become Ocean:

Vaughan Williams' Sea Symphony

...millions of others.

 

Other noteworthy examples?  Whose musical interpretation of the sea is your favorite?

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1 hour ago, kaseykockroach said:

I'm disgusted these scores haven't already been mentioned. Allow me to correct this contemptible error. 

 

You should be ashamed of yourself for not mentioning these sooner.

 

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I can't find the track on youtube but I suppose a clip will do:

 

 

This is the most evocative piece of the underwater realm I have ever heard. My favorite passage from the whole score

 

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0:12-1:06

 

This is precisely how I imagine the sea, having never seen it in person: calming, serene, endless, but with an underlying uneasy darkness if you start thinking about it: anything can be under your feet and the endless horizon means you could be lost anywhere.

 

The main post didn't explicitly specify orchestral compositions, so there's the other classic La Mer:

 

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1 minute ago, MikeH said:

Oh, how could I forget another Herrmann gem. 

 

 

How could we have forgotten this gem?!  A beautiful film as well.  Sort of like the 1948 version of "Ghost". 

How about this?

 

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Youtube overload! :D

 

The Bounty has spurred some great scores. Love Kaper's for MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY -- especially the 'setting out to sea' cue that is not only rousing, but also has cymbal crashes mimicking the waves splashing on to the surface of the ship. And Vangelis' BOUNTY is a spectacular score that captures the sweltering, boiling (both psychologically and physically) heat onboard the ship. The opening cue, in particular, over those red-tinted shots is absolutely stunning. A shame only a couple of tracks have been released on the (IMO must-have) compilation THEMES.

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14 minutes ago, Thor said:

Youtube overload! :D

 

The Bounty has spurred some great scores. Love Kaper's for MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY -- especially the 'setting out to sea' cue that is not only rousing, but also has cymbal crashes mimicking the waves splashing on to the surface of the ship. And Vangelis' BOUNTY is a spectacular score that captures the sweltering, boiling (both psychologically and physically) heat onboard the ship. The opening cue, in particular, over those red-tinted shots is absolutely stunning. A shame only a couple of tracks have been released on the (IMO must-have) compilation THEMES.

 

Show us the Youtube videos! :)

 

I've actually got the Themes compilation, and it would have been quite perfect if it was updated to include music from 1492.

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Indeed. 1492 is the perfect flipside to THE BOUNTY, with some similar approaches going on (for similarly-tinted sequences).

 

Come to think of it, wasn't there a 'recreation' album of THE BOUNTY released awhile back, performed by someone else?

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2 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

What do you think about his concert work Mythodea? I quite like it!

 

I have it. It's OK, but a bit too massive without the dynamic range of his purely electronic efforts. It gets somewhat tiresome eventually, and I'm not convinced Vangelis works with orchestral forces. I much rather prefer his ROSETTA album from 2016.

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1 minute ago, Thor said:

 

I have it. It's OK, but a bit too massive without the dynamic range of his purely electronic efforts. It gets somewhat tiresome eventually, and I'm not convinved Vangelis works with orchestral forces. I much rather prefer his ROSETTA album from 2016.

 

I agree that it becomes a bit tiresome in one listen, but it's quite varied and full of highlights. To me, Rosetta was a disappointment.

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English composer Clifton Parker had a particular affinity for writing music redolent of the briny main.  As well as Treasure Island mentioned above by @Fal, check out his music for The Blue Lagoon, Glory At Sea, Virgin IslandMystery Submarine and many others.  Here is a typical example - Seascape from the 1943 documentary Western Approaches:

 

 

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Mythodea is pretty weak, it is among Vangelis's weakest works - it can't be compared to great works like Blade Runner or 1492. The Bounty is a good one.

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13 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

 

 

I love Gerhardt's recording of the Hornpipe:

 

Curiously, it seems to be the exact same piece that shows up at around the 5 minute mark in your video, only on the Gerhardt recording it has a snare drum.

These should count, too:

 

 

More:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On 6/24/2018 at 8:15 AM, karelm said:

Did Goldsmith compose any sea music?

 

 

I'm sure there are other examples. The unused Star Trek TMP cues are indeed very nautical sounding as well.

 

Yavar

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1 hour ago, Yavar Moradi said:

 

 

I'm sure there are other examples. The unused Star Trek TMP cues are indeed very nautical sounding as well.

 

Yavar

 

How could I forget one of my favorite of his scores from an equally lovely film? 

1 hour ago, Yavar Moradi said:

I'm sure there are other examples. The unused Star Trek TMP cues are indeed very nautical sounding as well.

 

Makes a lot of sense since the ocean was "the final frontier" throughout almost all of our history until the 1960's.  I get that the sea can be a metaphor for space too.

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4 hours ago, karelm said:

Makes a lot of sense since the ocean was "the final frontier" throughout almost all of our history until the 1960's.  I get that the sea can be a metaphor for space too.

 

I don't think it's an accident that so many score for space based adventures (Star Wars, Star Trek, Treasure Planet, etc.) use sea faring swashbucklers and tone poems as a source of inspiration. Both sea and space tap into our collective romanticization and fascination with the unknown; the risks, dangers, and beauties of venturing beyond our comfort zone into an infinite seeming realm where unforseen wonders and catastrophes can await at any moment. 

On 6/24/2018 at 9:09 AM, Marian Schedenig said:

 

Philip Sainton's Moby Dick:

 

 

There's a bit of sea in this one as well:

 

 

 

Wait, do Topic videos work outside of the US, now?

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Good call on "Swimming" from WATERWORLD. It's not only a perfect suggestion in this thread; it might very well be one of my alltime favourite film music cues!

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