Composed: 1944
Premiered: 1947, Cardiff
Duration: 15 minutes

Grace Williams was a Welsh composer and is widely considered Wales’ most notable female composer. Born in Barry, Glamorgan, she learned to play the piano and violin at a young age, and began studying at London’s Royal College of Music in 1926 under the guidance of another iconic British composer – Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Sea Sketches is a series of five suites for string orchestra, and was composed in 1944 while she was living in London. The work is evocative of the ocean, and each movement is named after a different characteristic of the roiling sea. The first movement, High Wind, features a flurry of sound and carries a sense of urgency throughout. The second movement, Sailing Song, is deeper and more mysterious, flowing more gracefully compared to the opening movement. The third movement, Channel Sirens, is slow and more relaxed, and uses repetition to impart a sadder feel. The fourth movement, Breakers, is a stark contrast to the third, exploding with speed and complexity. The final movement, Calm Sea in Summer, is exactly as the name implies – soothing, welcoming, and peaceful – but a hint of sadness and longing can be heard.

After completing the piece, she wrote to English composer Gerald Cockshott about missing the ocean, saying in a 1945 letter: "I don't want to stay in London – I just long to get home and live in comfort by the sea." Two years later, she did return to Wales, and Sea Sketches has become one of Williams’ most well-known compositions.