Performance: Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, December 15th, 2019 at Pilgrim Congregational Church, Harwich Port

About Sea Sketches:

“Sea Sketches (1944) is a vivacious suite for string orchestra which is split into five movements. It was composed in 1944, and was subsequently published in 1951. Williams had dedicated this work to her parents, and it has since become one of her most well-loved compositions. She wrote this work whilst she was still living in London, so is considered one of her earlier works. The suite is in five movements, and as the provocative title suggests, each movement is a sketch of a different character of sea. Below are the movements:

1. High Wind (Allegro energetico)
2. Sailing Song (Allegretto)
3. Channel Sirens (Lento misterioso)
4. Breakers (Presto)
5. Calm Sea in Summer (Andante Tranquillo)

This was the first composition that was published by Oxford University Press, which made Williams’ name much more noticeable within the classical music world. The work may be based upon some of the observations that Williams had at the time where she used to sit on the beach and write down music and ideas. As her family lived on the Welsh coast, the sea felt like home to Williams, and this can certainly be felt somewhat within this suite of music. This work is very special and Williams’ musical flair and style is embedded throughout this suite, with an array of different emotions being portrayed throughout the five movements.

High Wind (Allegro energetico)

The fist movement starts with a flurry from the middle strings, with the main motif being proclaimed by the upper violins. A feeling of urgency carries throughout this movement, with the continuous flurry representing the ‘high winds’. Syncopated beats within the melody create a slightly jaunty feel to the melody. The lower strings play a descending motif which creates some darkness within this middle section. The final section of this movement is pervaded by a reprise-like flurry from the upper strings and a manic tremolo by the lower strings. The mood calms ever so slightly, although the music does still feel on edge. The movement ends quite suddenly, with this calmness just fading into the darkness.

Sailing Song (Allegretto)

After the angular melodies of the first movement, this next movement begins with a more flowing melody in a minor key. The mix of timbres between the pizzicato strings and the bowed strings gives a deep and mysterious sound to the music. The melody is largely in the upper strings, with a lot of dissonance colouring the rest of the ensemble. The use of extremities in range and also the use of dissonance makes this movement very mysterious indeed. It is called ‘Sailing Song’ which is even more ambiguous, however, my guesses are that this movement represents the trials and tribulations one can have whilst sailing tempestuous seas. The movement ends with another fade out, which segues straight into the next movement.

Channel Sirens (Lento misterioso)

This movement is the slowest thus far and begins by emphasising the lower strings. The repetition of the simple three-note motif in the middle parts creates continuity and a sense of relaxation within this movement. A violin solo is heard in the middle section of this movement, whilst the other parts sway between two notes.

This movement is outlining the aftermath of the previous movement, with a lot of the parts interweaving – perhaps outlining various emotions felt about the what has happened at sea. This movement feels slightly on edge (similarly to the other two), but this part has a particular sadness to it which I think is pertinent at this point in the suite. The upper strings make the simple melody colourful and the harmonic language that Williams has used in this movement is very interesting.

The use of repetition seems to be at the heart of this movement, because when the parts play in unison, it brings a new dynamic to the music, making it stronger and more impending. As with the prior movements, this one fades away at the end, leading into the animated fourth movement of the suite.

Breakers (Presto)

The fastest of all the movements, Breakers bursts with colour, speed and technical prowess. The fast scalic movements create a manic aura around the movement. This movement is a big shift in character from the last, with the constant descending figures playing out within the ensemble. The polyphonic nature of this movements means it creates a very complex array of parts that all cleverly interweave within one another – creating an exciting movement which soon ends, to lead into the final movement of the suite.

Calm Sea in Summer (Andante tranquillo)

The fifth and final movement of this suite is by far my favourite. It is incredibly calm and inviting, yet within it I hear sadness, loss and want from Williams. Her use of the extremely high register of the violins which soar above the ensemble creates a very heart-wrenching motif. Again in a minor mode, this movement is beautiful and is a wonderful way to finish this suite. A similar repeated motif can be heard in parts of this movement, which hold a resemblance of the previous two movements.

The dazzling strings in this movement are incredibly moving and they could resemble a lot of different things such as the sun, the sea or even the beach shore. I find this movement ever so fulfilling and just so awe-inspiring – if this is what Wales sounds like, then I want to always be there. The last movement ends like all the others do – with a calm and peaceful fade out.”

– Alex Burns (Classicalexburns)

About Grace Williams:

“Grace Williams was one of the first professional Welsh composers of the twentieth-century to attain significant national recognition, and many of her remarkably distinctive pieces are directly inspired by Wales and its culture.

Born in Barry, Glamorganshire, Williams studied music at Cardiff University (1923–26), later studying composition at the Royal College of Music (1926–30) with Ralph Vaughan Williams and in Vienna (1930–31) with Egon Wellesz. She particularly enjoyed writing for the orchestra, and her gift for this medium is apparent in her early overture Hen Walia (1930) and the Fantasia on Welsh Nursery Tunes (1940). She followed her popular Fantasia with a Sinfoni a Concertante for piano and orchestra (1941), and a dramatic First Symphony (1943), a work inspired by the fifteenth century Welsh rebel Owain Glyndwr. Her masterly Sea Sketches for string orchestra (1944) were stimulated by her beloved Glamorganshire coast.

Williams worked as a successful composer and music teacher in London for many years, but returned to live and work in Barry in 1947. This homecoming sparked a new and vital phase of her creative development. Her Penillion for orchestra (1955), for example, is a highly original orchestral adaptation of the metrical and melodic characteristics of traditional Welsh penillion singing. Her expanded musical vocabulary energised other significant works for orchestra including the powerful Symphony no. 2 (1956), the Trumpet Concerto (1963) and Ballads for orchestra (1968).

Williams also became more interested in writing more choral and vocal music in her later years. Her choral suite The Dancers (1951) is a radiant example of her skill at handling the choral medium, as is the exquisite Ave Maris Stella (1973) for mixed chorus. Many of her greatest large-scale works for voices date also from this time including her brilliant comic opera The Parlour (1966), the Missa Cambrensis for soli, chorus and orchestra (1971) and the exquisite aria Fairest of Stars (1973) for soprano and orchestra.”

– Discover Welsh Music