Sea Songs

"Sea Songs" may also refer to sea shanties

Sea Songs is an arrangement of three British sea-songs by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. It is based on the songs "Princess Royal", "Admiral Benbow" and "Portsmouth". The work is a march of roughly four minutes duration. It follows a ternary structure, with opening material based on "Princess Royal" and "Admiral Benbow", with "Portsmouth" forming the central section before a return to the opening material featuring the first two songs.

The march was arranged for military band in 1923 as the second movement of English Folk Song Suite, and the world premiere of the suite was given at Kneller Hall on 4 July 1923.[1] As a single work, its first performance was given at Wembley during the British Empire Exhibition in April 1924.[2] This work, as well as the English Folk Song Suite, stemmed from Vaughan Williams' admiration for the band of the Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall.[3] The work was re-arranged for full orchestra in 1942 by the composer.[4]

The term "sea songs" may also be used to refer to any songs about or concerned with ships and seafarers. Such songs (including sea shanties and other work songs) are most commonly classed as folk music and are a major feature of maritime festivals held at seaports (and some river-ports) around the UK.

Incipit of "Princess Royal"

Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can download the audio file.

Incipit of "Admiral Benbow"

Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can download the audio file.

Incipit of "Portsmouth"

Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can download the audio file.

## Performances and recordings

[edit]

The Vaughan Williams piece became well known in the United Kingdom as the theme tune to the BBC television adaptation of Billy Bunter in the 1950s, which used the central, "Portsmouth", section as its title music.[5] It was also used as the start-up music to Anglia Television until the early 1980s.[6][7] Both used the 1955 orchestral recording of the work performed by the New Concert Orchestra, conducted by Nat Nyll, which was part of the Boosey & Hawkes music library. This version is available on CD.[8] Other more recent stereo recordings include performances conducted by Richard Hickox with the Northern Sinfonia, Leonard Slatkin with the Philharmonia Orchestra, George Hurst with the Bournemouth Sinfonietta and Paul Murphy with the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. The original military band score is available in a recording by the Royal Northern College of Music Wind Orchestra conducted by Timothy Reynish.[9]

To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Vaughan Williams, the piece was performed at the 2008 Last Night of the Proms, in place of the traditional Fantasia on British Sea Songs by Sir Henry Joseph Wood, founding conductor of the Proms, and friend of Vaughan Williams.[10][11]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Timothy Reynish, notes for British Wind Band Classics, Chandos Records 9697, 1999
2. ^ Malcolm Walker, notes for The Essential Vaughan Williams, Chandos Records 241-9, 1999
3. ^ Stephen Banfield. Notes for Hickox conducts Vaughan Williams, EMI Classics 5 73986 2, 2000
4. ^ Philip Lane, notes for British Light Miniatures, Naxos 8.570332 (released 2007)
5. ^ whirligig-tv.co.uk, URL accessed July 14, 2008
6. ^ Test Card Circle, URL accessed July 14, 2008
7. ^ xtvworld.com, URL accessed July 14, 2008
8. ^ The Great British Light Experience, EMI Classics 5 66677 2
9. ^ British Wind Band Classics, Chandos Records CHAN9697
10. ^ Prom 76 Archived 2008-07-18 at the Wayback Machine, bbc.co.uk, URL accessed July 14, 2008
11. ^ BBC Proms 2008 – a festival spirit. The 114th BBC Proms 18 July to 13 September 2008. Under the title The Last Night, it is stated, "an orchestral version of Vaughan Williams's Sea Songs (rather than Henry Wood's Fantastia on British Sea-Songs) in celebration of the composer's anniversary in 2008." Accessed July 14, 2008

* v
* t
* e

Ralph Vaughan Williams

List of compositions

Opera|

* Hugh the Drover
* Sir John in Love
* The Poisoned Kiss
* Riders to the Sea
* The Pilgrim's Progress

Ballet|

* Job: A Masque for Dancing

Orchestral works|

* A Sea Symphony (Symphony No. 1)
* A London Symphony (Symphony No. 2)
* Pastoral Symphony (Symphony No. 3)
* Symphony No. 4 in F minor
* Symphony No. 5 in D major
* Symphony No. 6 in E minor
* Sinfonia antartica (Symphony No. 7)
* Symphony No. 8 in D minor
* Symphony No. 9 in E minor
* In the Fen Country
* Norfolk Rhapsodies
* Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
* Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus
* The Story of a Flemish Farm
* Concerto Grosso

Concertante|

* The Lark Ascending
* Flos Campi
* Piano Concerto
* Suite for Viola and Orchestra
* Oboe Concerto
* Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra
* Tuba Concerto

Chamber music|

* Romance for viola and piano
* Six Studies in English Folk Song

Choral music|

* A Cambridge Mass
* Five Mystical Songs
* Fantasia on Christmas Carols
* O clap your hands
* Mass in G minor
* Sancta Civitas
* Magnificat
* Five Tudor Portraits
* Dona nobis pacem
* Serenade to Music
* An Oxford Elegy
* Folk Songs of the Four Seasons
* Three Shakespeare Songs
* O taste and see
* Hodie

Vocal music|

* Songs of Travel
* "Whither Must I Wander"
* On Wenlock Edge
* Four Hymns
* Ten Blake Songs
* Four Last Songs

Incidental music|

* The Wasps
* The First Nowell

Film scores|

* 49th Parallel (1940 drama film)
* Coastal Command (1942 film)
* The Flemish Farm (1943 war film)
* Stricken Peninsula (1945 propaganda film)
* The Loves of Joanna Godden (1946 historical drama film)
* Scott of the Antarctic (1948 film)
* Bitter Springs (1950 film)
* The England of Elizabeth (1955 documentary)

Other compositions|

* English Folk Song Suite
* Sea Songs

Namesakes|

* Vaughan Williams Memorial Library

Related articles|

* Anglican church music
* Bath Bach Choir
* Curse of the ninth
* English Folk Dance and Song Society
* The English Hymnal
* The Oxford Book of Carols
* Society for the Promotion of New Music
* Songs of Praise
* Vaughan Williams and English folk music

Category

Portal:

* Classical music

Authority control databases

National|

* United States

Other|

* MusicBrainz work
* 2
* 3

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template