A continuous work in four movements, it takes its title from a poem by the American writer Sara Teasdale. Phibbs himself describes the presence of the sea as a driving force behind the piece. Certainly, its plasticity and flow suggest some ongoing continuum in motion, rising to frenetic activity in the fast sequences – Phibbs sees the last as an urban landscape – while more soberly atmospheric in the two slow sections.
What impresses throughout is the accomplishment of the harmonic and orchestral writing, both utilising a layering technique where more than one thematic element is heard over and against another. Though each maintains its identity, the resulting dynamic momentum accrues from the thrill and complexity of the resulting collisions." The Guardian (5* review)
British Composer Award
