Music Inspired by the Sea: A Musical Parallel between “The Sea” by C. Debussy and “A Sea symphony” by R. V. Williams

Abstract

The sea has always represented a source of inspiration in art (especially in the visual arts), but also in music – which borrows many attributes, such as evanescence and fluency, specific to musical Impressionism. Music also took over the metaphor of the sea, especially through the Impressionist music of Claude Debussy (The Sea) and A Sea Symphony by R. V. Williams, composers who will be celebrated at 160 and 150 years, respectively, from their birth. The purpose of the work is to stylistically compare the compositional details of the marine theme in the two proposed repertoire elements, from the 20th century. The work is structured in such a way that it involves a brief analysis of each of them, ending with comparative elements.