Ben Gunn is a set of three songs on texts of Paul Muldoon, based on the castaway from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. The poems form a narrative, first his early life as a pirate, then his time on the island, and finally his return to England. The initial idea came from Paul, whose interest in Stevenson and in strophic forms shines throughout these texts, which I’m proud to have had written for me to set.
Ben Gunn was commissioned by the Florestan Recital Project, the Brooklyn Art Song Society, and the London English Song Festival.
Special thanks to Roderick and Joan Nordell.
The premiere was by Aaron Engebreth and Alison d’Amato at the Albright Knox Museum in Buffalo, NY, on a program of the Buffalo Chamber Players in March 2016.
-Scott Wheeler
Ben Gunn
Music by Scott Wheeler
Text by Paul Muldoon
DOWNLOAD Libretto
LISTEN to the World Premiere Recording of Ben Gunn
WATCH video version of Ben Gunn created by James Greening-Valenzuela
