Sea of Clouds

Robert Buckley

Robert Buckley

This work is the third movement of Buckley's The Seas of the Moon.

General Info

Year: 2019
Duration: c. 5:05
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $75.00; (digital) - $75.00   |   Score Only (print) - $7.50

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:

• Bass Drum
• Bells
• Finger Cymbals
• Gong
• Marimba
• Rainstick
• Suspended Cymbal
• Vibraphone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Since the beginning of humanity we’ve been mesmerized by the moon. When our ancestors saw the dark spots on the moon, they believed they saw a kind of formation similar to the earth -- they believed they saw seas. These seas were originally named by Giambattista Riccioli, a 17th-century Jesuit astronomer -- we still use these names today. Four of these seas were chosen as a basis for this wind symphony, The Seas of the Moon. Because the names of these seas conjured up musical and visual images in my imagination, the music is cinematic in nature and designed to create an abstract impression of otherworldliness. The image for the second movement, Foaming Sea, came from watching the ocean during a violent storm with waves exploding and crashing all around -- however, the feeling was not that of fear but of excitement and exhilaration.

- Program Note by composer

The third movement of the grand cinematic suite describes impressions of the seas of the moon in paintings by Claude Monet. This movement is mostly subdued and dreamlike, with the music ebbing and flowing, building to a wall of sound before dissolving into silence.

- Program Note from publisher

Media

• Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

• University of North Dakota (Grand Forks) Wind Ensemble (James Popejoy, conductor) - 12 October 2021

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

• Final Countdown (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1986/2014)
• Highlights from "Doctor Who" (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2006/2019)
• My Favorite Things (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1959/2014)

All Wind Works

• Above and Beyond (2020)
• Ancient Stone Circles (2015)
• Arctic Fire. See: Symphony No. 1
• Attack of the Cyborgs (2017)
• Autumn's Garland. See: Symphony No. 3
• Bigfoot Stomp (2020)
• Cathedral Grove (2012)
• Codebreaker (2013)
• Continuum (2011)
• December (2013)
• Doctor Who (as arranger) (2016)
• Dreamcatcher (2016)
• Eagle Song (as arranger) (2018)
• Echo Lake (2014)
• Echoes of the Silent (2018)
• Excerpts from "The Rite of Spring" (as arranger) (2015)
• Fantasy on the Huron Carol (2014)
• Final Countdown (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1986/2014)
• Finn McCool (2020)
• Free Running (2012)
• From the Highest Peak (2017)
• The Gathering of Eagles (as arranger) (2018)
• Highlights from "Doctor Who" (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2006/2019)
• Highway of Heroes (2019)
• Hymn to Freedom (as arranger) (1962/2017)
• I Am the Doctor (as arranger) (2015)
• Iditarod. See: Symphony No. 1
• Jitterbug! (2018)
• Kingdom of the Sun and Moon (2015)
• The Knights' Creed (2018)
• Land of the Midnight Sun. See: Symphony No. 1
• LOL (2016)
• The Legend of Billy Miner (2018)
• Let the Bells Ring! (2015)
• Lightspeed (2017)
• The Lions March (2020)
• The Magic Mirror (2020)
• My Favorite Things (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1959/2014)
• Ogopogo (2015)
• An Olympic Celebration (2007/2010)
• Pacifica (Buckley) (2013)
• Portraits of the North. See: Symphony No. 1
• Postcard from Amsterdam (2015)
• Postcard from England (2014)
• Postcard from Pittsburgh (2013)
• Prestidigitation (2016)
• Procession of the Sorcerers (2009/2012)
• Propulsion (2014)
• Raven (as arranger) (2020)
• ReBoot (2013)
• Red Sky (2015)
• Rock It Science (2013)
• The Seas of the Moon
  • Sea of Tranquility (2018)
  • Foaming Sea (2018)
  • Sea of Clouds (2019)
  • Serpent Sea (2019)
• Smoke and Mirrors (2012)
• Smugglers' Cove (2019)
• Snow (2017)
• Spirit of the Wolf (as arranger) (2019)
• Spring Awakening. See: Symphony No. 3
• Squonk Blues (2016)
• Starburst (2015)
• Summer Festivals. See: Symphony No. 3
• Symphony No. 1 (2012-2014)
  • Arctic Fire (2014)
  • Land of the Midnight Sun (2013)
  • Iditarod (2012)
• Symphony No. 3 (2021)
  • Autumn's Garland
  • Winter Light
  • Spring Awakening
  • Summer Festivals
• Synergy (2019)
• Themes from "The Crown" (as arranger) (2020)
• Thunderbird
• A Tribute to Arthur Delamont
  • Front and Center (2015)
  • Memento (2015)
  • Flying Colors (2015)
• Under the Prairie Sky
• Undercurrents (2016)
• Walking to the Sky (2016)
• Where Mountains Touch the Sky (2014)
• Wild Rose Jamboree (2016)
• Windjammer (2011)
• Winter Light. See: Symphony No. 3
• Wolf Song (as arranger) (2019)

Resources

• Bob Buckley Productions – Accessed 18 May 2018
• Buckley, R. (2019). Sea of Clouds : (3rd Movement of "The Seas of the Moon") [score]. Hal Leonard: Milwaukee, Wisc.
• Perusal score