The composer John Ireland was much influenced by the English landscape. He lived in sight of Chanctonbury Ring, and it was there and at Harrow Hill that Ireland found the inspiration for ‘Legend for Piano and Orchestra’.
On one occasion John Ireland arose early, cut some sandwiches and chose Harrow Hill as the place for his picnic. Just as he was about to start eating, he noticed some children dancing around him in archaic clothing -very quiet, very silent, He was a little put out about having his peace invaded by children; he looked away for a moment, when he looked back they had disappeared. The incident made such an impression on him that he wrote about his experience to Arnold Machen whose books had greatly influenced much of his music. The reply he received was a postcard with the laconic message “So, you’ve seen them too!”
Children – or fairies, eh?
Taken from the article by Iain Lace, quoting Norah Kirby at musicweb-international.com/ireland/lace.htm