Preludes for Piano (John Ireland)

Preludes for Piano is a set of four short pieces for piano solo composed by John Ireland between 1913 and 1915. They were published in the latter year.[1][2][3]

The pieces, with typical timings, are:

  1. The Undertone (3 minutes) [4]
  2. Obsession (3 minutes) [5]
  3. The Holy Boy (composed on Christmas Day 1913; subtitled A Carol of the Nativity; 4 minutes) [6]
  4. Fire of Spring (2 minutes) [7]

The Holy Boy is one of Ireland's best-known works, along with his setting of the hymn "My Song Is Love Unknown". It has been arranged for a variety of forces. One version is the Christmas carol "Lowly, laid in a manger / With oxen brooding nigh" with words by Herbert S. Brown.[8]

  1. ^ "List of works - N to P". The John Ireland Trust. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  2. ^ John Ireland: Preludes, pieces (4) for piano at AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  3. ^ Preludes for Piano (John Ireland): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
  4. ^ John Ireland: The Undertone, for piano (from Preludes (4)) at AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  5. ^ John Ireland: Obsession, for piano (from Preludes (4)) at AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  6. ^ John Ireland: The Holy Boy, prelude for piano (from Preludes (4)) at AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  7. ^ John Ireland: Fire of Spring, for piano (from Preludes (4)) at AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  8. ^ "The Holy Boy: a Carol of the Nativity". recmusic.org. Retrieved 1 May 2015.