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lier, he also had a life lived outside Ireland. This is Additionally, her setting subtly acknowledges Joyce’s
why I ensured for the first volume release that half of sophisticated intertextuality, particularly the potential
the composers were Irish—so that they could speak to reference within Joyce’s poem to Dante’s Inferno, Canto V:
the Irish sensibility—and the other half were from be-
yond our shores. I like to think Joyce would appreciate • Dante (Inf. V. 137–138): Galeotto fu ’l libro e chi lo scrisse:
this decision. quel giorno più non vi leggemmo avante. “Galeotto was the
I had been working on this project for years, re- book and he who wrote it: / that day we read there no
searching and planning. As a composer myself, I had further.”
set a couple of Joyce’s poems. I thought, why not kick
off this project by commissioning a well-known inter- • Joyce (Ch. Music. V. 5–6): “My book was closed, / I
national composer? So we invited Ēriks Ešenvalds, read no more.”
and out of the thirty-six poems, he chose “My love is
in a light attire” (Poem VII). The numeric alignment—this poem being the fifth in
Joyce’s collection and Dante’s fifth canto—invokes a lit-
Scheibe: Did the other composers you selected follow erary and symbolic resonance, echoing Dante’s epipha-
that same process when choosing a poem to set? nic treatment of courtly love literature. Jocelyn enriches
the listening experience, not only capturing the imme-
Earley: Typically, I offered three texts and asked each diate joy of romantic encounter, but also embedding a
composer to pick one. That seems to have worked deeper, reflective dimension that resonates with Joyce’s
well, but as we go through the project, it’s going to be- own complex literary allusions. (Listen to a sample of
come more difficult as the number of available poems this track by scanning the QR code on page 8.)
decreases.
Scheibe: Are there other composers from the United
Scheibe: Can you tell me about one of the compos- States involved in Volume 1?
ers you invited from the United States?
Earley: David Walters chose “O cool is the valley now”
Earley: It was a great delight to have American com- (Poem XVI), Dale Trumbore chose “Dear heart, why
poser Jocelyn Hagen write a piece for the project. will you use me so?” (Poem XXIX), Damien Geter set
Jocelyn’s setting of “Lean out of the window, Gold- “Gentle lady, do not sing” (Poem XXVIII), Tim Ste-
enhair” (Poem V) creatively captures the vibrant spir- phens composed music for “When the shy star goes forth
it and playful romanticism inherent in Joyce’s poem. in heaven” (Poem IV). All of these composers connect-
She told me that she aimed explicitly to convey “the ed with the music in Joyce’s text. I really appreciated
sensation of a cool wind blowing through their hair their willingness to dig into and understand the text.
and the joy and excitement of meeting someone
new,” and her composition beautifully realizes this vi- Scheibe: Can you speak about David Walters and his
sion. She employs sophisticated scoring for string trio setting?
(violin, cello, and double bass) and integrates elements
reminiscent of energetic American folk music—to my Earley: Atlanta-based composer David Walters chose
ear, at least—creating a spirited and engaging atmo- strings and French horn for his setting (Figure 2 on page
sphere. Her intimate understanding of both vocal and 15). A slow-burning cello solo introduces David’s at-
string-writing techniques allows her to craft intricate mospheric miniature, immediately evoking a profound
passagework and lively rhythmic patterns. Jocelyn sense of longing and nostalgia. Joined gradually by vi-
describes “Goldenhair” as a “delightful dance,” and olin, double bass, and horn, this instrumental introduc-
her string instrumentation significantly heightens the tion gently envelops the listener. When the choir enters,
playful exuberance (Figure 1 on the next page). its homophonic texture emerges softly, heightening the

CHORAL JOURNAL May 2026 Volume 66 Number 8 13