Winds of May, that dance on the sea

Winds of May, that dance on the sea, 
Dancing a ring-around in glee 
From furrow to furrow, while overhead 
The foam flies up to be garlanded, 
In silvery arches spanning the air, 
Saw you my true love anywhere? 
		 Welladay! Welladay! 
		 For the winds of May! 
  Love is unhappy when love is away!

by James Joyce (1882-1941) , from Chamber Music, no. 9, published 1907

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by David Arditti (1964-) , no title, op. 20 no. 7 (1998) [tenor and string quartet], from Chamber Music, no. 7.
by Luciano Berio (1925-2003) , "Winds of May, that dance on the sea", 1953 [female voice, clarinet, violoncello and harp], from Chamber Music, no. 3.
by Lorne M. Betts (1918-) , "Winds of May, that dance on the sea", 1950 [high voice and piano], from Five Songs (1950), no. ?
by William A. Billingsley (1922-) , "Winds of May, that dance on the sea" [tenor and piano], from James Joyce Songs, no. ?
by Roberto Di Marino (1956-) , no title, 2000.
by Joan Ferris , "Winds of May, that dance on the sea", published 1967 [SATB chorus a cappella], from Six Songs, no. ?
by Hugo Kauder (1888-1972) , "Winds of May", published 1955 [soprano, tenor, alto, and string quartet], from Ten Poems, no. ?
by Carl J. Kittleson (1920-) , "Winds of May" [voice and piano]
by Dorothy Hill Klotzman , "Winds of May, that dance on the sea", published 1963 [SSA chorus a cappella], from Three Songs from "Chamber Music", no. ?
by (Kurt) Rudolf Mengelberg (1892-1959) , "Winds of May, that dance on the sea", published 1960 [medium voice and piano], from Chamber music, no. 3.
by Williametta Spencer (1932-) , "Winds of May, that dance on the sea", published 1972. [SATB a cappella]
by Karol Maciej Szymanowski (1882-1937) , "Winds of May", op. 54 (Seven Songs) no. 6, published 1926. [voice and piano]
by Graham Martin Treacher (1932-) , "Winds of May", published 1963. [two-part children's chorus and piano]

FRE French (Guy Laffaille)

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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Vents de Mai, qui dansez sur la mer

Vents de Mai, qui dansez sur la mer,
Dansant une ronde joyeusement,
De sillon en sillon, tandis que plus haut
L'écume s'envole en guirlandes,
En arches d'argent franchissant l'air,
Avez-vous vu mon fidèle amour quelque part ?
Hélas ! Hélas !
Pour les vents de Mai !
L'amour est malheureux quand l'amour est loin !

Translation from English to French copyright © 2009 by Guy Laffaille (guylaffaille (AT) yahoo (DOT) fr), (re)printed on this website with kind permission. Please contact the copyright-holder when requesting permission to reprint.

a text in English by James Joyce (1882-1941) , from Chamber Music, no. 9, published 1907

Date added to the website: 2009-11-04.