Themes from "Victory at Sea"

Robert Russell Bennett

Richard Rodgers

Richard Rodgers and Robert Russell Bennett (arr. Richard E Maltby Sr)

General Info

Year: 1953 / 1975
Duration: c 6:15
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: Chappell
Cost: Score and Parts - Out of print.

For availability information, see Discussion tab, above.

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
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
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion, including:

• Bass Drum
• Bells
• Chimes
• Crash Cymbals
• Snare Drum
• Triangle

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

The documentary television series about naval warfare during World War II entitled Victory at Sea was originally broadcast by NBC in the United States in 1952 and 1953. It was condensed into a film in 1954. Excerpts from the music soundtrack, by Richard Rodgers and Robert Russell Bennett, were re-recorded and sold as record albums. The series, which won an Emmy award in 1954 as "best public affairs program," played an important part in establishing historic "compilation" documentaries as a viable television genre.

The New Yorker Magazine describes the music as "a seemingly endless creation, now martial, now tremendously moving." The symphonic sweep of Rodgers's score captures the moods and variations of the panoramic war at sea in all its terror and beauty, and adds an elusive emotional dimension which neither camera nor words quite convey.

Rodgers's music is greatly enhanced by the comprehensive arrangement of his long-time collaborator, Robert Russell Bennett. Bennett transformed 12 of Rodgers's 24 "themes" — Song of the High Seas (main theme), Submarines in a Calm Sea, Beneath the Southern Cross, The Guadalcanal March, The Sunny Pacific Islands, The Approaching Enemy, Death and Debris, The Hymn of Victory, Big Wave -- into today's symphonic scenario. Bennett also composed much more original material than Rodgers had, for which he received little credit.

- Program Note adapted from Wikipedia and Program Notes for Band

This medley for younger bands includes Song of the High Sea, Sunny Pacific Islands, Guadalcanal March, Beneath the Southern Cross, The Approaching Enemy, The Attack, Death and Debris, and Hymn of victory.

- Program Note from score

Media

None discovered thus far.

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

• Karl L. King Municipal Band (Fort Dodge, Iowa) (Jerrold Jimmerson, conductor) - 12 June 2022

Works for Winds by this Composer

Adaptable Music

• My Favorite Things (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Buckley) (1959/2014)

All Wind Works

• Bali Hai (arr. Yoder) (1949/1953)
• Blue Moon (arr. Barker) (1937/1962)
• Carousel: Highlights (arr. Yoder) (1945/1964)
• Carousel: Selections (arr. Leidzen) (1945/1948)
• Carousel Waltz (arr. Bennett) (1945/1957)
• Cinderella Waltz (arr. Bennett) (1958)
• Circus on Parade, The (arr. Warrington) (1935)
• Do-Re-Mi (arr. Hoshide) (1959/1991)
• Flower Drum Song (arr. Lang) (1958/1959)
• Golden Age of Broadway, The (arr. Moss) (2009)
• Guadalcanal March (arr. Bennett) (1952/1978)
• Guadalcanal March (arr. Curnow) (1952/1989)
• Guadalcanal March (arr. Leidzen) (1952)
• If I Loved You from "Carousel"(arr. Werle) (1945/)
• It's a Grand Night for Singing (arr. Brown) (1945)
• Highlights from "Oklahoma!" (arr. Moss) (1943/1994)
• Highlights from "Oklahoma!" (arr. Yoder) (1943/1954)
• Highlights from "South Pacific" (arr. Lang) (1949/1958)
• Highlights from "The King and I" (arr. Herfurth) (1951/1957)
• Highlights from "The Sound of Music" (arr. Cable) (1959)
• King and I, The, Selections (tr. Bennett) (1951)
• Lady is a Tramp (arr. Hastreiter)
• Manhattan (arr. Morrissey) (1925/1953/1959)
• March of the Siamese Children (arr. Bennett) (1951)
• My Favorite Things (arr. Jennings) (1959/1992)
• My Favorite Things (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Buckley) (1959/2014)
• Oklahoma! (arr. Bennett, adapt. Rodgers) (1943/1997)
• Oklahoma!: Selections (arr. Leidzen) (1943)
• Richard Rodgers in Concert (arr. Huff)
• Richard Rodgers in Concert (arr Lowden)
• Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Oklahoma" (arr. Edmondson) (1943/1982)
• Salute to Richard Rodgers (arr. Ricketts)
• Selections from "Carousel" (arr. Bennett) (1945)
• Selections from "Carousel" (arr. Custer) (1945/1995)
• Selections from "The King and I" (arr. Custer) (1951/1997)
• Selections from "The Sound of Music" (arr. Christensen) (1959/1989)
• Slaughter on 10th Avenue (arr. Lang) (1936/1954)
• Slaughter on 10th Avenue (arr. Moss)
• The Sound of Music -- Selections (arr. Bennett) (1959/1960)
• The Sound of Music Medley (arr. Iwai)
• South Pacific -- Highlights
• South Pacific: Selection (tr. Leidzen) (1949)
• South Pacific Symphonic Scenario (arr. Bennett; adapt. Rogers) (1949/1999)
• Symphonic Highlights from "The King and I" (arr. Bulla) (1951/2016)
• Symphonic Marches (arr. Farnon) (1970)
• Themes from "Victory at Sea" (arr. Maltby) (1953/1975)
• Tribute to Rodgers and Hammerstein (arr. Custer)
• Victory at Sea Symphonic Scenario (tr. Bennett) (1954/1955)
• Victory at Sea (arr Moss)
• You'll Never Walk Alone (arr. Foster) (1945/1998)
• You'll Never Walk Alone (arr. Rhea) (1945/2018)
• You'll Never Walk Alone (arr. Walden and VanDoren) (1945/2017)

Resources

• Rodgers, R.; Maltby, R. (1953/1975). Themes from Victory at Sea [score]. Williamson Music: Bryn Mahr, Penn.
• Smith, Norman E. (2002) Program Notes for Band. GIA Publications: Chicago, page 512.
• Victory at Sea. Wikipedia. Accessed 6 August 2023