Sea Sketches is a suite of five movements for string orchestra, composed by Grace Williams in 1944, and dedicated to her parents.
[1] Shortly after completing the work Williams wrote to Gerald Cockshott, in 1945, saying "I don't want to stay in London – I just long to get home and live in comfort by the sea."
[1] Williams dedicated the suite to her parents "who had the good sense to set up home on the coast of Glamorgan".
[3][6] Sea Sketches was first recorded by the English Chamber Orchestra conducted by David Atherton in 1970 (Decca SXL6468), and re-issued in 1995 (Lyrita SRCD323).
[3] A new recording was issued by Resonus Classics in 2024, performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by John Andrews.