I'm a sucker for "seascapes" (or, maritime pictures, if you will) in music - you know, like Debussy's La Mer, Gilson's De Zee, Bridge's The Sea, d'Indy's Poèmes des Rivages, Britten's Four Seascapes from Peter Grimes, - etc.
In film music, only a few come to mind:
Morton Gould, Windjammer Theme
Miklós Rózsa, Theme from Moonfleet
Bernard Herrmann, Prelude, The Sea, Storm from The Ghost and Mrs Muir
Bernard Herrmann, Prelude, The Reef, The Undersea Forest, The Quiet Sea from Beneath the Twelve-Mile Reef
Not directly related to the open sea, but open space, James Horner's Main Title from STAR TREK II THE WRATH OF KHAN has always been considered a brassy, sea-faring piece, even by the composer and director themselves.
I would say the adventure and chase music from JAWS has that salt water feel in it's spirit.
Scores from nautical movies are not seascapes per se.
One that is absolutely key, and maybe the best ever is Clifton Parker's exquisite Seascape from 'Western Approaches', a movie that re-enacted British naval events using no professional actors and only naval personnel:
And don't forget Herrmann's 'Seascape, Storm at Sea and Balloon' from 'Mysterious Island', or Rozsa's 'Storm at Sea/The Seashore' from 'Thief of Baghdad'. Rozsa also composed a short piano piece for 'Lydia' called 'The Sea'.
And don't forget Pennario's 'Midnight on the Cliffs':
(Somebody think they hear Alec Courage ...?)
Here's Stanley Black's stereo recording of 'Western Approaches' with the London Festival Orchestra (really the LSO). When this 'Film Spectacular' album was first released in the US, this track was replaced by another that the producers thought would be more familiar to American audiences. Sacrilege. They keep patronising their audiences:
Chandos also released a performance with Rumon Gamba.
When this 'Film Spectacular' album was first released in the US, this track was replaced by another that the producers thought would be more familiar to American audiences. Sacrilege. They keep patronising their audiences.
There are some beautiful passages in Kaper's "Mutiny on the Bounty." Rozsa did some wonderful sea-themes for "All the Brothers Were Valiant" "Plymouth Adventure" etc. Many of the earlier moments of Bernstein's "Hawaii" also evoke sea images for me. Clifton Parker's "Damn the Defiant!" has some rousing sea music as I recall -- but it may be more action oriented rather than moody. "A Summer Place" -- especially the love theme for the "adult" couple -- always seems ocean-drenched to me.
However, for me at least, the most glorious score ever written that evokes the sea, sky, and sand is "Big Wednesday" by Basil Poledouris
There's a big difference between a nautical score evoking ships etc. like 'Captains Courageous' or 'The Sea Hawk' which really hasn't got a single seascape in it (though it's composed to evoke the general tang) and an actual piece describing a sea scene and its moods, folks.
