John FIELD 1782 — 1837

Music now available
Marche triomphale	"pour celebrer la victoire du General Comte de Witgenstein"
Prelude in C minor	Sadly he wrote only 1 tiny prelude, not 24.
Fal Lal La with Variations	"Composed by Master Field" — and published in Dublin when he was 12
Ar hyd y nos, with variations	published anonymously by Clementi & Co
Waltz	this has also been attributed to Weber
Romance	Field's own arrangement from the 2nd Piano Concerto
Sicilienne	Field's own arrangement from the 4th Piano Concerto. The transcription of the opening orchestral bars is particlarly magical in my view
Pastorale	This work was first published (in about 1811) as the first movement of the Divertissement no 2 for Piano quintet (Hopkinson no 14). A solo version (1815) appeared as the first of "Three Romances", and is included among standard editions of the nocturnes, as number 8. The edition reproduced here has a new coda, and is from rather later. The cover reads "The much Admired PASTORALE for the PIANO FORTE as played by the Author at the Philharmonic Concert on Monday the 27th. Feby. 1832". This concert took place during Field's final visit to England.
Rondo in A	This work was first published (in about 1811) as the second movement of the Divertissement no 2 for Piano quintet (Hopkinson no 14). A solo version appeared in 1817 (Hopkinson 38)

John Field is generally (and justly) known as the composer who developed the Nocturne. His earliest pieces in this form were published (under the title "Romance") 10 years before Chopin was born. Some 16 Nocturnes have stayed in the repertoire, and this music has remained in print and easy to find.

During his lifetime his seven piano concertos were well-known. He also wrote some fine sets of variations, notably the "Fal-Lal-La" variations published when he was only 12, the "Kamarinskaya" variations which seem to anticipate the Choin Berceuse, and and the beautiful "Vive Henri Quatre" variations. The Rondo in Eb , from the Sonata Op1 no 1 is familiar in modern arrangements for two pianos and in Hamilton Harty's orchestration: but I prefer the original, which Field folllowed up with half a dozen in a similar vein — the last movements of concertos and divertimenti, all of which he also produced in solo piano versions.

Over the course of a lifetime of enthusiasm for this music I have collected copies of almost everything John Field wrote, and hope in due course to make most of it available here. In 1961 Cecil Hopkinson produced his Bibliography and thematic catalogue of the works of John Field which was carefully researched (350 copies privately printed: I have copy no 3). Patrick Piggott's excellent biography The Life and Music of John Field was published in 1973 (by Faber and Faber). In 1982 a "complete" edition of the piano music, edited by Nicholas Temperley, was published in two volumes of the series The London Pianoforte School (Volumes 12 and 13).

Comments are welcome. Please write to williamww@aol.com    Last modified: 16 February 2009.