Baltic Exchange Releases Music for Seafarers

As part of the shipping industry’s efforts to support seafarers worldwide, the Baltic Exchange has released a collection of choral music called Music for Seafarers. The London headquartered Exchange’s members include much of the world’s commercial shipping interests.

You can hear a preview of the CD below and available to purchase on the Baltic Exchange’s website as a CD or download:

Funds raised from the sale of the music will go towards seafaring charities Mission to Seafarers and the Sailors Society as well as RNLI Salcombe where the Baltic has supported lifeboats for over 100 years.

Recorded in Portsmouth Cathedral and performed by Portsmouth Cathedral Choir and the Convivium Singers, the collection includes anthems, hymns, songs and folk songs on the theme of the sea.

The highlight of the collection is the Anthem for Seafarers, a brand new composition based on the most famous of seafaring hymns “Eternal Father, strong to save”.

The hymn, originally written in 1860 by William Whiting, is associated with both the British and American navies as well coastguards and marines. The Anthem for Seafarers is an updated version of this hymn composed by Malcolm Archer, a leading light in the music world and the former director of music at St Paul’s Cathedral.  First performed in 2010 in Vancouver to commemorate the International Maritime Organization’s “Year of the Seafarer”, the piece forms the centre piece of the collection.