Ulysses Awakes

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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.

Contents

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

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