Southampton Philharmonic Choir

Sea Symphony combines the quintessentially English music of Vaughan Williams with the profoundly humanistic texts of American poet Walt Whitman was written between 1903 and 1909 and was first performed in 1910. This expansive work combines warmth, energy and thoughtfulness to create a symphony that is both heartwarming and heartrending.“Darest thou now, O Soul, walk out with me toward the unknown region?” Two years before A Sea Symphony was published, Vaughan Williams used the texts of Walt Whitman for the first time in this work filled with the joy of adventure and discovery. Toward the Unknown Region shows the influence of composers such as Stanford, Elgar, and Parry, in particular his Blest Pair of Sirens and was first performed in 1907.The Helios Overture was named after the Greek god of the sun and was written in January 1903 by Carl Nielsen during a holiday spent with his wife who was working in Athens. He was inspired by the sun rising and setting over the Aegean sea, which is described in the score as “Tranquility and darkness — then the sun comes out with a joyous, exultant song. It traces its golden arc and sings peacefully back into the sea”.