The sea - for orchestra

[jerry.buszek]

I wonder why all the members from Great Britain would have forgotten one of their own: Eric Coates. He wrote the Seven Seas March & don't forget Man from the Sea from the Three Men Suite, with the main tune modulating to "Three Blind Mice"! Perhaps Coates was not classified as a Classical composer.

[Alan Howe]

Well, he's not exactly unsung!

[Wheesht]

Here on the Continent (mainland Europe) I would hazard a guess that he is not only unsung, but virtually unknown...

[Gareth Vaughan]

True, but I think Alan's point was that he would not be considered "unsung" by British contributors to this forum. Jerry wondered why members from Great Britain seemed to have forgotten him.

[Wheesht]

You are right, I just hadn't read Jerry's post carefully...

[Latvian]

In addition to the many fine examples of music already listed and discussed here, I offer a few more suggestions. Recordings of the works are of varying availability, although a number of them can be sampled on YT. Apologies if I'm repeating anything already cited:

John Ansell: Plymouth Hoe ("a nautical overture")
Frederick Austin: The Sea Venturers (overture)
Eduardas Balsys: Reflections of the Sea, for string orchestra
Granville Bantock: Two Hebridean Sea-Poems (1. Caristiona / 2. The Sea Reivers)
                              Hebridean Symphony
                              The Sea-Wanderers (poem, for chorus & orchestra)
Arnold Bax: On the Sea-Shore (tone poem)
Gareth Farr: From the Depths Sound the Great Sea Gongs
Grzegorz Fitelberg: From the Depths of the Sea (symphonic poem)
John Hawkins: Sea Symphony
Alfred Hill: The Sea
Robert Hughes: Sea Spell
Jiri Jaroch: The Old Man and the Sea (symphonic poem)
Uuno Klami: Sea Pictures (suite)
Michel Perrault: The Sea Gallows (ballet suite)
Nikos Skalkottas: The Sea
Adolfs Skulte: Waves (symphonic poem)
Klas Torstensson: The Polar Sea
Grace Williams: Sea Sketches (suite, for string orchestra)

[Alan Howe]

Thanks for this - although I'm afraid most of the pieces you mention, i.e. those by Ansell, Balsys, Farr, Hawkins, Hughes, Jaroch, Perrault, Skalkottas, Skulte, Tostensson and Williams clearly fall outside UC's stated remit. Let's concentrate, please, on those that comply with that remit...

[Martin Eastick]

Agreed, but surely John Ansell's "Plymouth Hoe" overture should be classed as more than acceptable for discussion here - a fine example of the typical "light overture" once so common in British music very much in the Haydn Wood / Eric Coates mould - but, as for the rest (as mentioned by Alan), well.........!

[eschiss1]

Even the Hawkins (once available as a download from here?) If you say, if you say.

[Latvian]

Alan,

Please forgive my breach of protocol. I haven't posted in a long time and was unaware that the extent of censorship on this forum had advanced to such a state.

Please remove my post and I will not trouble you again.

[Alan Howe]

John Ansell's "Plymouth Hoe" overture

Thanks, Martin. That was a slip-up on my part.

I haven't posted in a long time and was unaware that the extent of censorship on this forum had advanced to such a state.

There's no censorship here - just a very clear remit which we ask posters to respect:
http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,3681.0.html

Further contributions which comply with this very generous remit would, of course, be most welcome.

[pedrito]

"Daybreak and Sunrise" from the opera "Kinderen van de Zee" (Children of the Sea") by the Belgian composer Lodewijk Mortelmans (1868-1952)
Mortelmans, (who incidentally lived in the same village as I do now, there is a street named after him 500 meters from my house) was called  "the prince of the Flemish art song" by his colleague Paul Gilson. He is mostly remembered for his songs and smaller miniatures. He composed one opera, "Children of the Sea", which proved to be fiasco after its premiere in 1920. The music itself was highly acclaimed, but there was a lot of negative criticism about the dramatic development and the way the dramatic scenes were constructed. Mortelmans forbid the work ever being staged again, but distilled a suite from the manuscript. The opening scene of this suite evokes the hidden danger and restlessness of the sea in contrast to the peace and safety of life on the land.
Mortelmans is little known, although Hyperion released a recording of his "Homerische symfonie". The "Daybreak and Sunrise" has been recorded by the Flemish choir and Radio orchestra, conducted by Zsolt Hamar. CD is available on the Belgian, very adventurous label Phaedra CD (www.phaedracd.com), a label which deserve all credit for its promotion of unsung Flemish and Belgian repertoire, mainly from the Romantic period. Its founder is one of those rare admirable persons who devote their lives, efforts, time (and often their own money!) into the promotion of the music they believe in...   Their catalogue counts numerous treasures of unsung repertoire.

[pedrito]

The Mortelmans disc has a very nice painting on its cover "Fishing boats at dusk", painted by the composer's brother Frans Mortelmans, presented to his brother at the premiere of his opera in the "Royal Flemish opera" in Antwerpen in 1920.