Month's Mind (John Ireland)

Month's Mind is a piece for piano solo composed in 1935 by John Ireland.[1]

The manuscript, published by Augener, is headed by a quotation from John Brand’s Observations on Popular Antiquities (1777).[2]

…days which our ancestors called their ‘Month’s Mind’, as being the special days whereon their souls (after death) were had in special remembrance – hence the expression of ‘having a Month’s Mind’, to imply a longing desire.

According to Philip R Buttall, this piece "encapsulates the quite individual harmonic language of the composer, bitter-sweet with its fair share of dissonance, but never added for mere effect alone".[3]

A performance takes about 4½ minutes.[4][5]

References

  1. ^ "List of works – J to M". The John Ireland Trust. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  2. ^ Month's Mind, score at IMSLP
  3. ^ 'Homage and Reminiscence on John Ireland Anniversary', in Seen and Heard, 24 April, 2012
  4. ^ John Ireland: Month's Mind, for piano at AllMusic. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  5. ^ Month's Mind (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project