Preludes for Piano is a set of four short pieces for piano solo composed by John Ireland between 1913 and 1915. They were published in the latter year.
The pieces, with typical timings, are:
- The Undertone (3 minutes)
- Obsession (3 minutes)
- The Holy Boy (composed on Christmas Day 1913; subtitled A Carol of the Nativity; 4 minutes)
- Fire of Spring (2 minutes)
The Holy Boy is one of Ireland's best-known works, along with his setting of the hymn "My Song Is Love Unknown". It has been arranged for a variety of forces. One version is the Christmas carol "Lowly, laid in a manger / With oxen brooding nigh" with words by Herbert S. Brown.
References
Preludes for Piano (John Ireland) Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA