b. 1882d. 1941
James Joyce
James Joyce was a modernist Irish expatriate writer. He is best known for his groundbreaking novels (A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, and Finnegans Wake) and for his short stories (Dubliners), but he also published a substantial body of poetry, starting with his first book, Chamber Music.
Photo: James Joyce, ca. 1915, public domain.
Listen
“I Hear an Army” (from “Three Songs,” Opus 10)
Joshua Thomas, bass-baritone; Sarah Thune, piano2:35
“Strings in the Earth and Air” (from “Octaves and Sweet Sounds”)
Esther Jane Hardenbergh (soprano) & Mutsumi Moteki (piano)2:04
About
American composers who have been attracted to Joyce’s style include Samuel Barber, David Del Tredici, David Diamond, Miriam Gideon, Donald Martino, Ben Moore, and Vincent Persichetti.
Related Information
The James Joyce Centre
jamesjoyce.iePoetry Foundation
poetryfoundation.org/poets/james-joycePoets.org
poets.org/poet/james-joyceSongs
All day I hear1940 · Songs for a Rainy Night, op. 48Gardner ReadJames JoyceDespite and Still, Op. 411969Samuel BarberRobert Graves, Theodore Roethke, James JoyceFour Songs2000Emma Lou DiemerJames Joyce, Dorothy ParkerI Hear an Army (op. 10, no. 3)1937 · Three Songs, Op. 10Samuel BarberJames JoyceI hear an army1985 · Nocturnal visions, op. 145Gardner ReadJames JoyceIn the Dark Pinewood1937Samuel BarberJames JoyceNuvoletta (op. 25)1952Samuel BarberJames JoyceO, It Was Out By Donnycarney1953John Woods DukeJames JoyceOctaves and Sweet Sounds1989Richard HundleyE. E. Cummings, James Joyce, James Purdy, Gertrude Stein, José García VillaRain Has Fallen (op. 10, no. 1)1936 · Three Songs, Op. 10Samuel BarberJames JoyceShe Weeps Over Rahoon1939Miriam GideonJames JoyceSleep Now (op. 10, no. 2)1939 · Three Songs, Op. 10Samuel BarberJames JoyceSolitary Hotel (op. 41, no. 4)1968 · Despite and Still, Op. 41Samuel BarberJames JoyceStrings in the Earth and Air1990 · Octaves and Sweet SoundsRichard HundleyJames JoyceThree Songs, Op. 101939Samuel BarberJames JoyceWay of the River2011Robert G. PattersonAnonymous, James Joyce, Rudyard Kipling, Sara Teasdale, Walt Whitman
Video
Records
1999
Gardner Read: The Art of Song
William Blake, Frances Frost, James Joyce, Gardner Read, Henry Russell, Rabindranath Tagore, Jean Starr Untermeyer
Sheet Music
Octaves and Sweet Sounds (High Voice)
Richard Hundley
1. Strings in the Earth and Air Text: James Joyce
2. Seashore Girls Text: E. E. Cummings
3. Moonlight's Watermelon Text: Jose Garcia Villa
4. Straightway Beauty On Me Waits Text: James Purdy
5. Well Welcome Text: Gertrude Stein
2. Seashore Girls Text: E. E. Cummings
3. Moonlight's Watermelon Text: Jose Garcia Villa
4. Straightway Beauty On Me Waits Text: James Purdy
5. Well Welcome Text: Gertrude Stein
High
Octaves and Sweet Sounds (Medium Voice)
Richard Hundley
1. Strings in the Earth and Air Text: James Joyce
2. Seashore Girls Text: E. E. Cummings
3. Moonlight's Watermelon Text: Jose Garcia Villa
4. Straightway Beauty On Me Waits Text: James Purdy
5. Well Welcome Text: Gertrude Stein
2. Seashore Girls Text: E. E. Cummings
3. Moonlight's Watermelon Text: Jose Garcia Villa
4. Straightway Beauty On Me Waits Text: James Purdy
5. Well Welcome Text: Gertrude Stein
Medium
Way of the River
Robert G. Patterson
1. from “Sun-Down Poem” (Whitman)
2. Strings in the Earth and Air (Joyce)
3. Psalm 65:9-12 (Douay-Rheims)
4. from “The Elephant's Child” (Kipling)
5. The Ballad of Poor Susan (Wordsworth) Interlude
6. The River/Deep River (Teasdale/Anonymous)
2. Strings in the Earth and Air (Joyce)
3. Psalm 65:9-12 (Douay-Rheims)
4. from “The Elephant's Child” (Kipling)
5. The Ballad of Poor Susan (Wordsworth) Interlude
6. The River/Deep River (Teasdale/Anonymous)