This album includes nine of Beethoven's Irish melodies and two Swedish ones, interspersed with traditional folk melodies from other collections.
Compositional Technique
Unlike other composers who halted music between stanzas, Beethoven made his folksong settings continuous, with postludes flowing into the next stanza without a break.
Performer Biography
Sarah-Jane Summers, the fiddle player on this album, is a tradition-bearer of the old Highland style of fiddling, taught by Donald Riddell.
Interpretation
For this recording, Philippe Pierlot imaginatively re-scored Beethoven's piano accompaniments for a variety of instruments more connected to folksong tradition.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Beethoven found it fascinating to compose accompaniments for traditional and sometimes strange folksong melodies.
Composition History
Beethoven composed 179 folksong settings, more than any other genre, mostly commissioned by Scottish music publisher George Thomson.
Compositional Technique
Beethoven revolutionized folksong accompaniments by developing motifs from the melodies in his preludes, similar to his symphonic approach.
