Bed in summer was written just before the outbreak of The Great War and published in 1915. Ireland's simple setting, with it's hopalong dotted triplet rhythm, catches delightfully the mood of an infant tantrum over bedtime schedules as caught in the accurately observed (!) poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. The child's confusion and resentment are all down to changes in daylight hours with the seasons.

The period from the latter part of The Great War to 1921 was the most fertile of Ireland's career as far as songs are concerned. Clearly there are those which reflect the composer's horror at the conflict, especially poignant for someone who was a lifelong pacifist. Among these are the two sets of Two Songs to poems by E T Cooper and Rupert Brooke respectively (not recorded here) which reflect the tragedy and futility of war. But paradoxically there are also songs of very different moods, conveying everything from a delight in nature and love to rollicking good humour.

from notes by Andrew Green © 1999