On St. Patrick's Day, Don't Forget John Field!

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, I thought I'd inject a reminder about John Field, one of Ireland's most gifted artists. To listen to Field is to listen to music worlds away from Beethoven, although he was born only twelve years after the passing of Beethoven.
The most important music Field produced are his Nocturnes for piano. One is immediately transported into the heart of the Romantic era upon listening to these pieces. The melodies are tunes one would expect to be given us by one of the great Irish tenors we are so familiar with; however, these gems are unique expressions written for the piano, and are, curiously, "Chopin - like," even though Chopin comes after Field (Chopin was born eighteen years after Field).
Two telling stories about Field :
One day, while teaching at college, I ventured into the library to find some music to play during a break from classes. As I passed the librarian , I asked her what editions of John Field are on the shelves. Her answer was "who's John Field?"
On another occasion, one of my sons was preparing to go on one of his trips to Ireland. So I asked him to stop in at one of the record stores in Dublin to pick up any CD he could find of one of Ireland's own; namely, John Field.
Upon his return, he handed me a CD he purchased in , I believe Dublin. I had pictured his being able to find all kinds of Field while being in Ireland. What I found was that the CD he brought back was one recorded in Worcester, Massachusetts, about forty miles from my home.
In other words, Field should be better known than he is.
Finally, to cite an example of the indefatigable and indestructible force we call Irish Humor: after hearing a young Liszt attacking the piano as only Liszt could do, Field turned to his companion, and asked "does he bite?"
Listen to his Nocturnes, and experience some wonderfully pleasurable moments.