# Debussy's La Mer.. similar music?



## cowboyjoe (Oct 12, 2008)

Hey folks,

I heard this piece 'La Mer' for the first time recently and was totally blown away by it. Can anyone here recommend similar music to this. I love the undertones of adventure/action in the piece.

Any help would be great!!  

Thanks!


----------



## Rondo (Jul 11, 2007)

It's difficult for me to recommend something generally similar to Mer. However, based on the aspects you mentioned, you can try some of R. Strauss' tone poems: _Eine Heldenleben_, and _Zarathustra_. That would be a good start.


----------



## Guest (Oct 12, 2008)

I was about to say that La Mer is _sui generis._ Then I thought that any groundbreaking piece could be so described. Then I thought I'd just say nothing.

But Rondo's suggestions of two radically different pieces from _La Mer_ got me thinking, first that other pieces by Debussy would be more along the lines of "similar," like _Images,_ say, or _Nocturnes._ But that was quickly replaced by "Yeah, why not encourage cowboyjoe to simply listen to more music?"

So that's my recommendation, too. Listen to more music. Period!


----------



## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I would heartily endorse Debussy's Three Nocturnes as mentionewd above. For my tastes they are more memorable, maybe slightly more melodic.

Now here's a newer one that comes to mind (as I myself listen to La Mer) -- Tobias Picker's The Encantatas for narrator and orchestra. There is a recording with Sir John Gielgud as narrator that just knocks my socks off. Though a contemporary composer, this piece harks back to the romantic or impressionistic age of Debussy to my ears.


----------



## rojo (May 26, 2006)

I'm a huge fan of the piece, and I agree with others who have said that there is nothing quite like La Mer.

Here is a thread on the exact same topic, started by another person who is in the same 'boat' as us, as it were. 

http://www.talkclassical.com/2517-looking-recommendations-based-debussys.html?highlight=debussy+mer

Somehow I managed to effectively kill that thread; hope that doesn't happen this time.


----------



## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

Chicago Symphony Orchestra Program Annotator Phillip Huscher called Arnold Bax's _The Garden of Fand_ "La Mer as written by an Englishman."

I'm not sure that I entirely accept that statement. Still, I thought that it's a glib "sound-bite" worth sharing.


----------



## LvB (Nov 21, 2008)

Going by your comment about the "undertones of adventure/action," I would suggest Bax's _Tintagel_ as one option. Another, even less well known, is the third Symphony, conveniently called "the Sea," by Finnish composer Kalervo Tuukanen. You might also try some of Granville Bantock's big symphonic pieces, though they might be more contemplative than what you're looking for.


----------



## Herzeleide (Feb 25, 2008)

_Daphnis et Chloé_ and _Rapsodie espagnole_ by Ravel.


----------



## Rach Man (Aug 2, 2016)

I quite like La Mer. I am a big fan of great tone poems and this is a good one.

If you like the sea, but would like to try a new adventure, told in music, try Richard Strauss: Alpine Symphony. You get to go up and down the mountain.

My two favorites are:

https://www.amazon.com/Richard-Stra...id=1539880882&sr=1-1&keywords=alpine+janowski

https://www.amazon.com/Strauss-Alpi...&qid=1539880884&sr=1-1&keywords=alpine+previn


----------



## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)




----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

You may also like Toru Takemitsu's _Quotation of Dream_, a sort of extended meditation on _La Mer_, for two pianos and orchestra. The music includes some direct quotes from _La Mer_, instantly recognizable. A fine piece.


----------



## philoctetes (Jun 15, 2017)

Try Sibelius Symphony #5, it doesn't claim to represent anything, but it might paint landscapes in your head... and urge you to hear more Sibelius,. cause there is more just as good...

Other pieces by Debussy too, although they may or may not take longer to appreciate - Nocturnes, Images, Jeux, and a more obscure item, la Damoiselle elue, although the latter is often poorly rendered...

When you're ready for three hours of this stuff, Pelleas and Melisande is Debussy's major opera...


----------



## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

These have all been programmed with Debussy's La Mer:

Frank Bridge _The Sea_

Maurice Ravel _Daphnis et Chloe_ suite No. 2, _Bolero_

Benjamin Britten _4 Sea Interludes _from his opera Peter Grimes

Debussy_ Nocturnes_,_ Images_, _Printemps_, _Jeux_

Glazunov _La Mer_

Zou Long _The Deep, Deep Sea_

Bantock _Hebridean Symphony_

Bax _On The Seashore_


----------



## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Gilson: The Sea


----------



## Guest (Oct 18, 2018)

You all did notice that the question was posted 10 years ago by someone who never made a second post to the forum. 

Of course, we can still ruminate on pieces of music that are similar to La Mer.


----------



## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

Another appropriate example would be _Jura_ (The Sea) by the Lithuanian composer Mikalojus Ciurlionis. IIRC it has some impressionistic influences as well.


----------

