The earliest pieces are the
Berceuse and the
Cavatina dating from 1902 and 1904 respectively and composed when Ireland was in his early twenties in the years immediately after he had graduated from the Royal College of Music. Although both are immature works, they demonstrate the composer’s melodic fluency: the
Cavatina is a piece of salon music typical of its period, whereas the
Berceuse has a more serious intent, but still shows the influence that Brahms had on Ireland’s earliest compositions.
from notes by Andrew Burn © 1996
;)
