The Sea

• The Sea is a suite for orchestra in four movements, which Bridge composed in 1910-11.¹
• The Sea premiered at The Proms in London in 1912.²
• This suite was influenced by Debussy’s La Mer, another set of orchestral impressions suggesting the ocean.³

“A calm sea at night. The first moonbeams are struggling to pierce through dark clouds, which eventually pass over, leaving the sea shimmering in full moonlight.”

Frank Bridge’s description of the movement “Moonlight.”⁴

1. Anthony Payne, Paul Hindmarsh, and Lewis Foreman, “Bridge, Frank,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed August 12, 2019,  https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000048240.
2. Paul Horsley, “The Sea: Suite for Orchestra: About the Work,” The Kennedy Center, accessed August 12, 2019, https://www.kennedy-center.org/artist/composition/4887.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.