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Wind whines and whines the shingle, The crazy pierstakes groan; A senile sea numbers each single Slimesilvered stone. From whining wind and colder Grey sea I wrap him warm And touch his trembling fineboned shoulder And boyish arm. Around us fear, descending Darkness of fear above And in my heart how deep unending Ache of love!
Authorship:
- by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), "On the beach at Fontana", written 1914, appears in Pomes Penyeach, no. 6 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Lorne M. Betts (b. 1918), "On the beach at Fontana", 1952 [voice and piano], from Five Songs (1952) [text not verified]
- by Bill Hopkins (b. 1943), "On the beach at Fontana", published 1967 [soprano, bass clarinet, trumpet, viola, harp], from Two Poems, no. 2, London, Universal Edition [text not verified]
- by Jack Marius Jarrett (b. 1934), "On the beach at Fontana", 1964 [soprano or tenor and piano], from The Unquiet Heart [text not verified]
- by Geert van Keulen (b. 1943), "On the beach at Fontana", 1943, published 1984, rev. 1984 [soprano, flute (alto flute and piccolo), clarinet (bass clarinet), violin, contrabass, harp, vibraphone (tam-tam), mandolin, and guitar], from Trieste, or Three Poems by James Joyce, no. 1, Amsterdam, Donemus [text not verified]
- by Roger Sessions (1896 - 1985), "On the beach at Fontana", 1929, published 1933 [high voice and piano], from The Joyce Book, no. 6. [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , title 1: "Sur la plage à Fontana", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , title 1: "Am Strand von Fontana", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Barbara Miller
This text was added to the website: 2005-01-13
Line count: 12
Word count: 56
Le vent gémit et les galets gémissent, Les pieux fous de la jetée grognent; Une mer sénile compte chaque unique Pierre de vase argentée. Du vent qui gémit et de la mer Plus froide et grise je l'enveloppe au chaud Et je touche son épaule tremblante et à l'os fin Et son bras de petit garçon. Autour de nous la peur, descendant Une obscurité de peur sur nous Et dans mon cœur combien profonde et sans fin La douleur de l'amour !
Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2009 by Guy Laffaille, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in English by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), "On the beach at Fontana", written 1914, appears in Pomes Penyeach, no. 6
This text was added to the website: 2009-11-09
Line count: 12
Word count: 82