Two Pieces for Piano is a work for piano solo composed in 1921 by

John Ireland John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in ''All the King's Men'' (1949), making him the first Vancouver-born actor to receive an Oscar nomina ...

(18791962). A performance of both pieces takes about 7 minutes. They are: # ''For Remembrance'' # ''Amberley Wild Brooks''

Amberley Wild Brooks Amberley Wild Brooks or Amberley Wildbrooks is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Storrington in West Sussex. An area of is a nature reserve managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest a ...

is an area of

marshland A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

on the

River Arun The River Arun () is a river in the English county of West Sussex. At long, it is the longest river entirely in Sussex and one of the longest starting in Sussex after the River Medway, River Wey and River Mole. From the series of small stream ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

, England, well known for its wildlife and natural beauty. Ireland lived much of his life in Sussex and frequently took inspiration for his music from nature and the natural landscape of Southern England, for example in other pieces such as

A Downland Suite ''A Downland Suite'' is a 1932 composition for brass band in four movements by John Ireland. It has also been arranged for string orchestra and various other instruments. The English composer John Ireland wrote the work in 1932 for the National ...

. The music is

impressionistic Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

in style, influenced by the piano works of

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

and

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

, in particular the latter's

Jeux d'eau ''Jeux d'eau'' (Italian ''giochi d'acqua'') or "water games", is an umbrella term in the history of gardens for the water features that were introduced into mid-16th century Mannerist Italian gardens. History Pools and fountains had been a fe ...

. There are two main themes, a gently meandering melody in A major and a heroic horn-call in F. The music builds swiftly to a climax of cascading arpeggios before a return to the tranquillity of the opening. The writing for piano is colourful and effective; it is one of Ireland's most popular and frequently-performed piano pieces.

References

Solo piano pieces by John Ireland 1921 compositions {{classical-composition-stub

See also

References