“Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem Crossing the Bar comes during a period of great depression in Tennyson’s life. Tennyson’s son, Lionel, had recently died while on the voyage back to England after taking ill in India, his body finally being laid to rest in the Red Sea. This poem was written as Tennyson himself sailed between the Isle of Wight and mainland England, and the composition draws simple, yet powerful parallels between the passage of the ship from one land to the next and the passage of the soul from one life into the next. It is of particular importance to note that, during a period when most of Tennyson’s poetry was filled with desperation and grief, Crossing the Bar captures a certain serenity in the haunting beauty of coming to terms with the inevitable. 

In this musical composition, an undulating ostinato mimics the rolling of waves in troubled waters, while the bass carries onward resolutely, acting as the ship in the musical texture. The melody stands in modal contrast with the rest of piece, highlighting the ethereal nature of the passage in Tennyson’s imagery. The piece concludes with the chiming of eight bells fading into the distance. Eight bells marks the beginning of the midnight watch, symbolizing the transition of one day into the next as the passing of one life into the next as well.”