A Sea Symphony

How Can I Keep From Singing Robert Lowry, arr. Ron Staheli
Shenandoah Traditional, arr. Mack Wilberg
Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Op. 112 Ludwig van Beethoven
A Sea Symphony Ralph Vaughan Williams

The adventure and excitement of a sea voyage becomes an extravagant metaphor for the soul’s journey into the infinite, as the music of Vaughan Williams brings Walt Whitman’s transcendent poetry to glorious musical life.

O we can wait no longer,
We too take ship, O Soul,
Joyous we too launch out on trackless seas,
Fearless for unknown shores on waves of ecstasy to sail,
Amid the wafting winds (thou pressing me to thee, I thee to me, O Soul),
Caroling free, singing our song of God,
Chanting our chant of pleasant exploration.
     — Walt Whitman