Ulysses Awakes

Ulysses Awakes (after Monteverdi) is a musical composition for solo viola and strings by English composer John Woolrich.^[1] It is a creative transcription of Ulysses's first aria in act 1, scene 7 of Claudio Monteverdi's opera Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria. Ulysses has been washed up on the coast of Ithaca, his homeland.

Am I sleeping or awake?

And what country surrounds me?

'It's a powerfully effective piece, which manages to be utterly faithful to the spirit of Monteverdi and yet entirely part of Woolrich's musical world, too.'^[2]

Ulysses Awakes was commissioned by Dartington International Summer School and first performed there by Clare Finnimore and the Guildhall String Ensemble on August 11, 1989.

Instrumentation

The composition consists of a solo viola with 6 violins, 1 viola, 2 cellos, and 1 double bass.

Discography

• Jane Atkins (viola); John Lubbock (conductor); Orchestra of St John's, Smith Square; ASV (1998); Black Box Classics 1091 (2004)
• Simon Rowland-Jones (viola); 12 Ensemble; Sancho Panza Records SPANCD001(2018)

References

Bibliography

• Robert Philip Performing Music in the Age of Recording (Yale University Press 2004)
• John Wenham and Richard Wistreich (editors) The Cambridge Companion to Monteverdi (Cambridge University Press 2008)