James Joyce's Finnegans Wake set to music

we set the book to music with an unthinkable amount of contributors from all over the world. this is our 2017 opendoor edition, which premiered 2017 May 4.

You can also listen to the first edition or the second edition or locate a specific contributor. To record your own passage, get involved.

Waywords and Meansigns: Recreating Finnegans Wake

opendoor edition, 2017 May 4 /// download via archive.org
click on playlist and scroll to see all passages

finnegans wake collaboratively set to music

For this 2017 release we gathered over 100 musicians and readers from 15 different countries to set James Joyce's Finnegans Wake to music.

Unlike our previous releases, which were both unabridged versions of the Wake, this is an incomplete "open edition", meaning we want YOU to submit your own recording. (Composer Andrea Riley has even written an open score, which you could interpret or perform. Click here to download.)

With releases in 2015, 2016 and now 2017, we have created some 70 hours of audio in total, setting the entire text of Finnegans Wake to music multiple times. Project director Derek Pyle has written about the evolution of the project on our blog.

We love to hear from you, so drop a line and let us know what you think!

Over three hundred people have been directly involved in production of our audio. We dedicate this 2017 edition to all the good people working behind the scenes — all the collaborators, producers, audio engineers, editors, and everyone who supported us.

To everyone who believed in and encouraged the project when it was still a weird little idea, helping us grow in size and in spirit, thank you for fostering what is now a rather large but equally weird idea.

Special thanks to Heather Ryan Kelley and Raymond Pettibon for this year’s art. Derek Pyle would also like to thank all the good people hanging with me this winter while I grappled with what sometimes seemed like a Syphian task.

And thanks to you, the listener. May you pursue the things that inspire you.

Opendoor Edition Track Listing

Since our contributors work with exact (unabridged) passages of text, tracks are organized by page and line number, followed by the artist name, and then occasionally followed by the track’s nickname. (Some tracks overlap, as two different artists may set the same passage to music.)

For example, the track title “010.25-016.09 - John Cerreta - ‘Stoop to Prittle’” means that the passage begins on page 10, line 25 and ends on page 16, line 9. The artist is John Cerreta, and the track is nicknamed “Stoop to Prittle.”

To locate specific recordings you can also visit our Artists page. Click here for an online text of Finnegans Wake.

Click here to download the entire Opendoor Edition audio.

Chapter 1 (pp. 003-029)
003-010.24 - The Here Comes Everybody Players
003.01-003.09 - Hervé Michel and the box sets
003.01-003.14 - Roman Tsivkin and the box sets
010.25-016.09 - Chris Rael
013.20-015.11 - Peter Chrisp and the box sets
018.17-021.04 - John Cerreta - "Stoop to Prittle"
023.16-024.14 - Nigel Bryant - "O Foenix Culprit"
027.22-029.36 - Cedar Sparks

Chapter 2 (pp. 030-047)
030-047 - Krzysztof Bartnicki and Bouchons d'oreilles with Wojtek Kurek
030.01-031.33 - The Etym and the Ondt
045-046 - Yehuda Vizan and the box sets

Chapter 3 (pp. 048-074)
048-050.35 - Wiel Conen & Charlotte Gilissen
052.18-053.35 - S.A. Griffin
053.36-055.02 - Joe Cassidy
055.03-056.19 - Neal Kosaly-Meyer
061.15-061.16 - Seán Mac Erlaine - "Nooningless Knockturne"
066.28-067.06 - Graziano Galati
067.07-067.27 - Schneider TM - “His Phizz Fell"
071.10-072.16 - Jon Wahl - "Abusive Names"
072.16-073.22 - Laura Callier / Brian Costello / Bill MacKay
073.23-074.19 - Steve Chisnell and Randon Myles - "And thus"

Chapter 4 (pp. 075-103)
75-103 - Matthew Duncan and James Heflin

Chapter 5 (pp. 104-125)
104-125 - Tim Cornelius
107 - Hayden Chisholm

Chapter 6 (pp. 126-168)
126.01-139.14 - Question 1 - Graziano Galati
136.01-136.36 - Lavinia Murrary - "Mursque"
139.15-139.28 - Maharajah - "Ann Alive"
139.29-140.07 - Maharadja Sweets
140.08-141.07 - Papa Sprain
141.08-141.27 - coldharbourstores - "Question 5"
141.28-142.29 - Old Fiends
142.30-143.02 - Little Sparta with Sally Timms and Martin Billheimer - "Question 6. How Are Yor Maggies"
143.03-143.28 - Dave Stitch
148.33-152.15 - Kevin Spenst and Hitori Tori - "Question 11"
152.16-159.18 - Mr. Smolin - "The Mooks & The Gripes"
159.19-163.07 - William Sutton
163.08-165.07 - Conspirators of Pleasure
165.08-168.14 - Jean-Hervé Péron and Raphael Byrne

Chapter 7 (pp. 169-195)
169-195 - Gavan Kennedy
169-195 - Mike Watt and Adam Harvey - “Shem the Penman”
170.25-174.04 - Layne Farmen of "Faraday"
174.05-175.06 - The Philip Cleary Ensemble - “The Cull”
175.07-175.28 - Mr. Smolin - "The Ballat of Perce Oreille"
175.29-181.33 - The Philip Cleary Ensemble - “a Dubliner (and a spy)"
181.34-182.29 - Karen Ponzio
182.30-184.10 - Winfried Wolf - "imeffible+tries"
185.27-186.18 - Prof. Foolscap, "The Haunted Inkbottle"

Chapter 8 (pp. 196-216)
205.16-210.06 - Joe Fee - "Anna Livia"
213.11-216 - Re-Scribe
215.36 - Seán Mac Erlaine - "My Ho Head Halls"

Chapter 9 (pp. 216-259)
223.12-224.07 - Sauerbraten Beef Ring - “Nought A Wired From The Wordless Either”
224.08-226.20 - Lucy Hollier - “The Pearlagraph"
226.21-228.02 - David Hurn and Abigail Hopkins
228.03-229.01 - Joel Wranning
229.01-229.29 - Owen Tromans
229.29-230.25 - Brendan Kinsella and Brian Tyree
230.26-231.22 - STV
231.23-232.26 - Michael Maier and Brian Tyree
254.01-254.08 - Chelidon Frame - "Our Seawall"
254.08-254.09 - Mr. Smolin - "Ancients Link With Presents"
254.09-254.17 - Lys Guillorn - "Have Done, Do and Will Again"
254.18-254.29 - Lys Guillorn - "The Mar of Murmury"
254.29-255.03 - Lys Guillorn - "Hoet of the Rough Throat Attack"
256.01-259.10 - Gareth Flowers
257.29-259.10 - Krzysztof Bartnicki and the box sets

Chapter 10 (pp. 260-308)
260-270.31 - Super Nova Nudge
263.17-263.30 - Liz Longo
266.20 - Liz Longo
273.01-273.28 - Phil Minton
274.02-275.13 - Gregory Betts
275.03-292.36 - Steve Chisnell and Randon Myles - "And as (these things being so)"
284.04 - Seán Mac Erlaine - "Brick Bath"
288, fn. 1 - Seán Mac Erlaine - "An Ounceworth of Onions for a Pennyawealth of Sobs"
293.01-300.08 - Sticky Foster and Usurper
304.05-305.11 - Janken's Henchmæn featuring Marco Toriani -  "Magic J Amezons"
305.08-306.07 - Janken's Henchmæn - "FAQ Deady"

306.08-306.10 - Janken's Henchmæn featuring MonkeYear - "Aen.C"
306.16-306.31 - Janken's Henchmæn featuring MonkeYear - "Frogterdati"
307 - Greg Nahabedian
308 - body bender - "Delays"

Chapter 11 (pp. 309-382)
310.01-310.21 - Daniel Pico
310.22-311.20 - Doug Eisenstark
310.22-311.20 - Matt Battle
311.21-312.16 - Insides
312.17-313.13 - Barry Bender - "Old Sporty (electric)"
312.17-313.13 - Barry Bender - "To Old Sporty"
313.14-314.14 - M. David Hornbuckle - "Whereofter"
314.15-315.08 - Alek Erickson
316.11-319.02 - Steve Fly
319.03-319.36 - Cathal O' Leary
320.01-320.32 - Jona Xhepa
322.01-323.24 - Kinski
323.25-324.17 - Tenement and Temple
324.18-326.20 - Renata Meints
326.21-326.36 - Tom Segear
329.14-330.11 - Steve Pantani - "And Dub Did Glow"
330.12-332.09 - John Wolf Brennan
332.10-333.05 - David Moss & Boris Hegenbart - "stepping the tolks"
333.06-334.05 - meunders
334.32-335.14 - O'Connor / Roth / Tokar / Doherty
335.15-335.29 - Carrick McDonald & Mandy Mac
336.33-337.14 - Lucy Grauman
372.23-373.12 - Haunted Robot, Ltd. and Dameon Merkl - "Last ye, lundsmin"
373.13-373.35 - Rob Beckinsale
373.35-377.01 - Julia Barnes, Yung-Tuan Ku, Julia Henneman and Judith Brokking - "This is not the end"
380.07-382.30 - The Science Of Deduction

Chapter 12 (pp. 383-399)
383-399 - Andrea Riley’s Opendoor Score - Score only, record your own interpretation or performance!!

Chapter 13 (pp. 403-428)
403-418.08 - Ross&Wayne
403.01-405.02 - Candle
418.09-419.08 - Ross&Wayne
418.10-419.08 - Aleorta - "Grace ondt Hope"
419.09-428 - Ross&Wayne
429 - Mary and Sara Jewell

Chapter 14 (pp. 429-473)
446.11 - Seán Mac Erlaine - "Zuccherikissings"
446.16-446.17 - Seán Mac Erlaine - "Rainkiss on Me Back"

Chapter 15 (pp. 474-554)
494.27-497.03 - Layne Farmen of "Faraday”
499.04-499.36 - Human Flourishing
500.01-501.06 - Adam Matlock
504.20-505.31 - Belorusia
506.34-509.36 - Rod Stasick - "Peace Antiques"
510.01-510.36 - Junklight
511.01-511.36 - Hardworking Families
512.01-512.20 - PhÆDRx - "To The Pink, Man!"
534.07-535.12 - Neil Campbell - "Calm Has Entered"
538.18-540.36 - Ulrich Krieger - "Finnegans Longstone"
540.09-550.03 - Bruce Woodside - "Haveth Childers Everywhere"
550.04-554.10 - At it Again!

Chapter 16 (pp. 555-590)
556.01-556.22 - Martyn Bates - "Night by Silentsailing Night"
589.12-589.19 - Stanton Warren - "...the band played on"

Chapter 17 (pp. 593-628)
593 - Adrian DiMatteo
594.01-595.29 - Rich Chapman
595.30-596.33 - watercodes
596.34-597.23 - Epiphany Now
597.24-598.27 - Hayden Chisholm
598.17-600.04 - Mariana Lanari and Sjoerd Leijten - "Supernoctural"
598.28-599.24 - Les orages de janvier - "Sable Rampant"
601.21-602.08 - Cathal O' Leary
602.09-603.33 - Mark Sheeky - "Finnegan's Judgement"
603.34-604.22 - Kaia Jackson
604.22-606.12 - Gerry Smyth
606.13-607.16 - Doug Eisenstark
607.17-607.36 - John Shakespear - "High Tigh Tigh"
608.01-608.36 - Asha Passalacqua
609.01-609.36 - Ken Davidson
610-611.02 - The Most Ever Company - "Muta & Juva"
613.01-615.11 - Peter Quadrino - "Vicocyclometer"
615.12-619.16 - Kamil Szuszkiewicz featuring Pictorial Candi - "Pollabella"
627.34-003.18 - Steve Gregoropoulos - "Recirculation"