Return to Sea: As the Waves Will Always Roll
May 29, 2007 at 8:58 am
Still from Vozvrashcheniye by Andrei Zvyagintsev, 2003
The sea seems to attract people in a most irresistible and overwhelming manner. There is nothing like gazing into the horizon and getting lost in the immensity of the sea. I grew up very close to the sea – The North Sea was a mere couple of minutes away from our home – and spent many days along the shoreline. I favoured the sea in the autumn, unlike most people who preferably went to the beach during the summer. This preference for the autumn sea fits well with my fondness for melancholic music, black and white photography and the nostalgic and longing sound of the cello. It also fits well with my fondness for the famous print The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai. A marvellous work that has symbolized our admiration for the sea ever since.
The picture above is a still that was taken from the great Russian film Vozvrashcheniye (The Return) by Andrei Zvyagintsev, easily my favourite film of the last 4 years. Vozvrashcheniye is an enigmatic drama about paternal bonds that follows two adolescent brothers and the return of their father after a 12-year absence. It is a strong psychological study that offers breathtaking visuals with epic-length shots and beautiful photography by Mikhail Krichman. The first track of the playlist below comes from the soundtrack of Vozvrashcheniye, which was released by ECM in 2005.
This playlist is my return to sea. I’m gazing over the shoulders of these two boys and try to envision the majestic serenity and hidden mysteries of the sea that lies so grandly in front of us.
- Andrey Dergatchev - Titles - Run
The return (ECM, 2005) - Aidan Baker - The Sea Swells a Bit
The Sea Swells a Bit… (A Silent Place, 2006) - United Bible Studies - The Shore That Fears The Sea
The Shore That Fears The Sea (Deserted Village, 2006) - Harold Budd - As Long As I Can Hold My Breath
Avalon Sutra (Samadhi Sounds, 2004) - Andrew Liles - II
The Dying Submariner (Beta-lactam Ring, 2006) - This Mortal Coil - Song to the Siren
It’ll End in Tears (4AD, 1984) - Dirty Three - The Restless Waves
Ocean Songs (Touch & Go, 1998) - Richard Buckner - As the Waves Will Always Roll
Dents and Shells (Merge, 2004) - Obi - After Thought
The Magic Land Of Radio (Cooking Vinyl, 2002)
This is certainly beautiful, specially the first three tracks and the last three as well they flow and mix so nice together. A while ago I was planning on doing a sea post based around the sound of Alan Hovhaness’ concert for harp and strings, will try to revive the idea and create a sequel to this post :^)
ohh beautiful. you know bob, the sound of the sea is one of my favorite sounds. the last song remind me of piano magic’s son del mar. the sound of the waves… totally have blown me away / or made me drowned.
ps: i’m quite prepared for the next post. will write you more in email! :)
Hello,
Enjoyable post that stuck a pang with me, a fellow melancholic. I wish more bloggers would post music to balm the spirit rather than rock the senses.
Just yesterday I was listenting to ‘Sea Pictures,’ (Elgar). If you’re not familiar with the work, you might give it a play, especially the first song, ‘Sea Slumber Song.’ It brings all the various elements of your post together.
Regards,
Jack
Me again….
I just tried streaming your playlist. It won’t open or play on my computer. I assume because its a Nero playlist?
Is it not working? I can’t check right now, downloading something. But it should work if you have mp3 player that plays .m3u/mp3
update: jack. It should work.
Nah. Pop-up says ‘Invalid Menu Handle’.
No matter. I can download the individual songs.
Cheers.
THX!! i quite agree, The Return is a fantastic film - a definite fave of mine too! i went to see it with my mother after a period of estrangement and it was really touching - we both came out of the cinema with tears in our eyes and more love for each other. great idea to use it as a hook to hang the tunes from. another great post. how to top it?! look forward to hearing more posts, thx again, C.
Hey thanks everyone! Also some really great suggestions on music still unknown to me. That is very much appreciated. :)
Moka: Your description of Alan Hovhaness sounds very interesting. I’m not going to check it out, so I’m fully depending on you to make that sequel and introduce me to his music. :)
Saisai: I actually haven’t heard that Piano Magic album, nor seen the related movie. Shame on me, I should do my homework better. Now that I’ve looked it up though, I really love the artwork, that alone makes me want to buy the record. :)
Jack: Sorry that the streaming playlist isn’t working for you. I’ve tested it with Windows Mediaplayer and Realplayer and both should work properly. Thanks for your suggestion on ‘Sea Pictures’, the samples I’ve heard on Amazon actually sound very nice and definitely appropriate for this playlist.
Chris: Wow, that is quite a special experience you’ve had with ‘The Return’. It doesn’t surprise me though that this movie can cause such emotional effects. The story and the characters are portrayed so immensely pure and honest. All the unnecessary elements are stripped away. Thereby it leaves so much room for the viewer’s own interpretation and relations with the story and the characters, everyone becomes part of the movie in their own way, really like looking in a mirror. I’m definitely looking forward to his next movie, Izgnanie (The Banishment). And thanks for your comments as always. :)
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[...] The list ends with a track that consists only of the sound of rain and comes from the soundtrack of another great Russian film, called Vozvrashcheniye (The Return). Please see this post for more information about that film. Return to Sea: As the Waves Will Always Roll [...]