Elizabeth Joy Roe is an emerging artist snapped up by Decca. She has recorded the Britten and Barber Piano Concertos, but the repertoire on this, her second solo album, is even rarer. The Irish composer John Field (1782-1837) studied with Clementi, later traversing Europe as a concert pianist. Contemporary accounts mention Field’s lyrical, singing tone and poetic style. He is credited with inventing the nocturne: a short study expressing Romantic notions of the night. Impressed by Field’s Nocturnes, Chopin composed his own iconic set.

Field’s Nocturnes fall into the pattern of a lyrical, thematic line, usually supported by flowing arpeggios or repeated patterns in the left hand. His early pieces recall Mozart’s slow movements (No 1 in E Flat), but later ones contain dramatic contrasts (No 10, Nocturne Pastorale). The thematic line is often treated to pianistic decoration, as in No 6, Cradle Song – possibly the precursor to Chopin’s Berceuse – and Liszt in his ‘consolation’ mood is anticipated in No 5 in B Flat. Field’s Nocturnes are not restricted to a particular time signature: most are in 3/4, but only one (No 8 in E Flat) sounds like a true waltz. No 16 in C Minor is the longest at 9’26’’, approaching a fantasia form. It elicits one of Roe’s most sensitive performances.

Throughout, Roe plays with affection. She can be robust (as in No 15, Song Without Words), and even witty: I like the offhand way she dispatches the recurring staccato cadence in No 7. If occasionally it seems she is shining a flashlight at these night-pieces, it may be because her piano is recorded closely. A little distance would have heightened the nocturnal atmosphere. The great pianists tended to ignore these works, but Roe’s performances have the benefit of being tasteful, unexaggerated and complete.