John Field: Complete Nocturnes —Elizabeth Joy Roe, piano (Decca 4789672)
For the first time, all 18 of John Field’s Nocturnes are brought together on a single album. The critically acclaimed pianist Elizabeth Joy Roe gives us the fascinating chance to hear the birth of a musical form which was created by Field but perfected by Chopin, whose works overshadowed Field's from then on. Liszt described Field's Nocturnes as "half-formed sighs floating through the air, softly lamenting and dissolved in delicious melancholy." Ms. Roe says, “I’ve always been drawn to the night and its symbolism…While at conservatory I discovered Field’s Nocturnes and was immediately entranced by their beguiling beauty. They appealed to my own Romantic ideals and seemed to provide a window to some bygone, more poetic, and possibly illusory realm.” This complete set of Field Nocturnes employs a numbering that follows the Schirmer Edition, which has significant differences when compared to the recordings of Míceál O'Rourke on Chandos and John O’Conor on Telarc.
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