THE FAIR HILLS OF EIRE: PIANO TRANSCRIPTIONS OF IRISH AIRS AND DANCES - John Field (1782-1837) - Go to the Devil and Shake Yourself, Stephen Hough (b.1961) - Londonderry Air (Danny Boy), Michele Esposito (1855–1929) - 'Avenging and Bright' and 'Though the Last Glimpse of Erin’ (The Coulin) from Two Irish Melodies Op.39, Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924) / Percy Grainger (1882–1961) -  'Maguire's Kick' and 'A Reel' from Four Irish Dances, Swan Hennessey (1866–1929) - Variations sur un Air Irlandais Ancien, Op.28, Philip Martin (b.1947) - Sionna, Spirit of the Shannon, Sydney Smith (1839–89) - The Last Rose of Summer, Paraphrase de concert, Op.173, Philip Hammond (b.1951) - 'Old Truagh' and 'The Beardless Boy' from Miniatures and Modulations, Amy Beach (1867–1944) - The Fair Hills of Éire, O!, Op.91, Ernest John Moeran (1894–1950) - 'Irish Love Song' and 'The White Mountain' (The Star of the County Down) from Two Folksong Arrangements. David Quigley, piano

Description: This hugely appealing disc is a real treat for pianophiles and aficionados of the noble art of folksong transcription. As the meticulously complete booklet notes, which describe in detail the provenance of the source material and the circumstances of its transcription, point out, the music here all owes its genesis to identifiably Irish sources. The sprightly and boisterous Field transcription of "a Favourite Irish Dance" is very much in the style of Clementi (to whom Field was apprenticed at the time). Smith was a student of Moscheles, and his intricately virtuosic, highly decorated concert paraphrase on the popular tune is entirely typical of the flamboyant showpieces for which Liszt, Thalberg, or for that matter, Moscheles, were famous. The Dublin-based Italian Esposito was a leading figure in the city’s musical life (and Hamilton Harty's teacher). His Two Irish Melodies, like his original compositions (e.g. 05Q049) are the epitome of fulsome Romanticism in the thunderously robust vigour of the first and the lush harmonies of the second, while Beach and Moeran, grand Romantics both, provide rich, full-blooded evocations of the Irish landscape and poetic, passionate national character. We've had the Irish-American, French-domiciled Hennessy before (03W048), and as in the collection of works previously offered, the influence of the German Romantics, and especially of Reger, is clearly audible in this set of twelve ingenious variations of wide-ranging character. Stanford's orchestral Irish Dances, based on traditional themes, elicited from Grainger characteristically exuberant displays of transcendental virtuosity in his rollicking transcriptions. The tradition continues among contemporary composers; Hough's arrangement of the Londonderry Air brings out its lilting, sentimental, lyrical qualities, an equally valid but completely different approach from Grainger's more sombre, dark-toned, impassioned transcription, while the distinguished Irish composer-pianist Philip Martin's rhapsodic miniature set of variations evokes the River Shannon in flowing music with a distinct folksong modality. Hammond's set of 21 pieces (available complete on 01Q062) are based on the Edward Bunting collection of Irish melodies from the Belfast Harp Festival of 1792. The original material is a starting point; the character of Hammond's transcriptions or fantasias often diverges completely from that of the traditional melody, as in these two atmospheric examples, but they always remain respectful of the originals. David Quigley, piano.