by James Joyce (1882 - 1941)
Nightpiece
Language: English
Gaunt in gloom The pale stars their torches Enshrouded wave. Ghostfires from heaven's far verges faint illume Arches on soaring arches, Night's sindark nave. Seraphim The lost hosts awaken To service till In moonless gloom each lapses, muted, dim Raised when she has and shaken Her thurible. And long and loud To night's nave upsoaring A starknell tolls As the bleak incense surges, cloud on cloud, Voidward from the adoring Waste of souls.
First published in Poetry, May 1917
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Text Authorship:
- by James Joyce (1882 - 1941), "Nightpiece", appears in Pomes Penyeach, no. 9 [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 George Antheil (1900 - 1959), "Nightpiece", published 1933 [ voice and piano ], from The Joyce Book, no. 9 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by David Del Tredici (1937 - 2023), "Nightpiece", published 1966 [ soprano, chimes, horn and orchestra ], from Syzygy, no. 2, New York : Boosey & Hawkes [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Geert van Keulen (b. 1943), "Nightpiece", 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. 3, Amsterdam, Donemus [sung text not yet checked]
- by Michael Murray , "Nightpiece", 2004 [ soprano, horn, and piano ], from The Wild Winds Weep, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Aribert Reimann (b. 1936), "Nightpiece", 1992 [ soprano and piano ], confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Nocturne", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Nachtstück", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 73