Joyce Music – Albert: Ecce Puer

Ecce Puer
(1992)
For soprano, oboe, horn, and piano

The last work fully composed by Stephen Albert, “Ecce Puer” is a six-minute song for soprano and three musicians. The text is adapted from James Joyce’s final published poem. It was commissioned by Daniel Webster, and was premièred by soprano Benita Valente and the Hancock Chamber Players. Unfortunately, the piece has not been commercially recorded, and I have been unable to obtain a copy of any performance. If anyone knows of a source, please drop me a line!

Text

Ecce Puer

Of the dark past
A child is born;
With joy and grief
My heart is torn.

Calm in his cradle
The living lies.
May love and mercy
Unclose his eyes!

Young life is breathed
On the glass;
The world that was not
Comes to pass.

A child is sleeping:
An old man gone.
O, father forsaken,
Forgive your son!

Additional Information

Ecce Puer Score
Available to peruse or purchase from Wise Music.

Stephen Albert: Other Joyce-Related Works

Stephen Albert Main Page
Return to the Brazen Head’s Stephen Albert profile.

To Wake the Dead (1978)
This remarkable song cycle is subtitled, “Six Sentimental Songs and an Interlude after Finnegans Wake.”

TreeStone (1983)
Albert’s second song cycle inspired by Finnegans Wake, TreeStone is loosely based on the legend of Tristan and Iseult.

Symphony RiverRun (1983)
The gloriously dramatic Symphony RiverRun expands on Albert’s previous Wake-inspired material. It won the 1985 Pulitzer Prize in music.

Flower of the Mountain/Sun’s Heat/Distant Hills (1985-1989)
Flower of the Mountain is based on Molly’s soliloquy in Ulysses. In 1989 Albert paired it with another Ulysses-inspired song, Sun’s Heat. Together they form a two-movement piece called Distant Hills.

Author: Allen B. Ruch
Last Modified: 16 June 2024
Joyce Music Page: Bronze by Gold
Main Joyce Page: The Brazen Head
Contact: quail(at)shipwrecklibrary(dot)com