O Sea!
for SATB (with divisi) Choir.
Duration: 5-6'.
Commissioned by the National Youth Choir (UK), as part of their 'Young Composers' programme for their upcoming NMC recording.
Programme note:
O Sea! was initially inspired by the folk songs that emerged from the coastal regions from
around Britain. This was brought about through attending a creative retreat in Aldeburgh, the
home of Benjamin Britten, who was also deeply influenced by folk song. Whilst walking along
the coast line of Aldeburgh, I was searching for a text that captured the nature and folk-like
aspects that can be found in instrumental music. This lead to me being drawn to a poem by
Alfred Tennyson, which was depicts the crashing of the waves through the repetitive ‘Break,
Break, Break’ stanza. This text, combined with the creative environment I found myself immersed
in gave me the creative impetus to compose this folk-dance for solo choir.
While the text is concerned about themes of nature, crashing of the waves, and the ebb and flow
of the tide, this piece is not a soundscape that wishes to evoke the sounds of nature. Rather, I
wanted to explore the percussive and impactful sound that a choir can create, imitating the
waves against a coastline in a metaphorical sense. In essence, O Sea! is a fast-paced, dramatic
composition that creates sudden contrasts and textural juxtapositions to create tension and
drama.
Throughout the vivid colours and harmonies that run throughout this vivacious piece, the
material is unified by a simple pentatonic melody heard in the opening by the lower voices.
This melody weaves and morphs into different forms throughout the various different episodes.
Some are contemplative, other times aggressive, another times declamatory. This very much
reflects the various moods that the sea is given throughout the year. The piece reaches an
emphatic climax as the choir returns to the opening material, however now being taken in new
harmonic directions. The piece concludes mysteriously, murmuring the opening major second
interval, complementing the vibrant and vivacious material that preceded it.