Is anyone here familiar with the Hamilton Harty Irish Fantasy for violin and piano?
It’s a wonderful piece that incorporates several tunes over its duration and weaves them together seamlessly with a lush accompaniment and some modulations that make it interesting (and a little more challenging).
Hamilton Harty was an Irish player, composer, and conductor who had an illustrious career in all three disciplines. He wrote a lot of music that paid homage to his homeland and it was received with great acclaim, both at home and abroad. His violin concerto was premiered by Szigeti.
The Irish Fantasy can be found if you search for the sheet music, but there don’t seem to be recordings available. That’s a real shame, as it is such a gem of a piece. I believe it is the best crossover piece from classical to Irish fiddle, as it captures the spirit of Irish fiddling better than any other classical composition I’ve encountered. I think it also proves clearly that good writing can make all the difference in rendering a tune. Unlike so many tune transcriptions that provide absolutely no stylistic cues, this piece lays out almost everything in its composition.
I played it in high school for one of my minor recitals and it has stuck in my mind ever since. I wish it were a standard selection in short piece repertoire and I think it would be an ideal introduction to Celtic fiddling for classical players. The more symphonic works tend to get more attention, but the Fantasy seems to me to be Harty’s most quintessentially Irish piece.
Sounds interesting but a quick search brought up fairly pricey options to buy. More than I would spend to just give something a try. I wonder why no recordings are available. How did you become familiar with it?
yea weird, I couldn’t find any recording either! interested to hear...
Only found this:
Recordings: 1991 Continuum CD (Irish Fantasy) performed by sister duo Fionnuala Hunt (violin) and Una Hunt (piano)
Edited by - NCnotes on 09/18/2026 10:01:28
quote:
Originally posted by Brian WoodSounds interesting but a quick search brought up fairly pricey options to buy. More than I would spend to just give something a try. I wonder why no recordings are available. How did you become familiar with it?
I found a pdf of the edition I used here for free:
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25611287M/Irish_fantasy?v=2
My father selected the piece for that recital. I don't know if he had played it before himself or come across it as he wrote reviews of recordings. His knowledge of violin literature is the most encyclopedic I've ever encountered.
Short pieces used to be an important part of repertoire, and many of the great players recorded them. But over time, there started to be an attitude toward them as if they were intellectually wanting and therefore only suited to encores. When Eugene Fodor started championing the shorter pieces, a lot of people acted as though he was squandering his talent by playing fluff.
I've always felt that many of the short pieces are as great as any of the concerti or sonatas and they deserve more credit.
I imagine there are other recordings of the piece out there somewhere, but they don't seem to have made it onto YouTube if they do exist.
quote:
Originally posted by The Violin Beautifulquote:
Originally posted by Brian WoodSounds interesting but a quick search brought up fairly pricey options to buy. More than I would spend to just give something a try. I wonder why no recordings are available. How did you become familiar with it?
I found a pdf of the edition I used here for free:
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25611287M/Irish_fantasy?v=2
My father selected the piece for that recital. I don't know if he had played it before himself or come across it as he wrote reviews of recordings. His knowledge of violin literature is the most encyclopedic I've ever encountered.
Short pieces used to be an important part of repertoire, and many of the great players recorded them. But over time, there started to be an attitude toward them as if they were intellectually wanting and therefore only suited to encores. When Eugene Fodor started championing the shorter pieces, a lot of people acted as though he was squandering his talent by playing fluff.
I've always felt that many of the short pieces are as great as any of the concerti or sonatas and they deserve more credit.
I imagine there are other recordings of the piece out there somewhere, but they don't seem to have made it onto YouTube if they do exist.
Thanks! Looks like I will have to create an account to "borrow" it but I probably will.
quote:
Originally posted by Brian Woodquote:
Originally posted by The Violin Beautifulquote:
Originally posted by Brian WoodSounds interesting but a quick search brought up fairly pricey options to buy. More than I would spend to just give something a try. I wonder why no recordings are available. How did you become familiar with it?
I found a pdf of the edition I used here for free:
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25611287M/Irish_fantasy?v=2
My father selected the piece for that recital. I don't know if he had played it before himself or come across it as he wrote reviews of recordings. His knowledge of violin literature is the most encyclopedic I've ever encountered.
Short pieces used to be an important part of repertoire, and many of the great players recorded them. But over time, there started to be an attitude toward them as if they were intellectually wanting and therefore only suited to encores. When Eugene Fodor started championing the shorter pieces, a lot of people acted as though he was squandering his talent by playing fluff.
I've always felt that many of the short pieces are as great as any of the concerti or sonatas and they deserve more credit.
I imagine there are other recordings of the piece out there somewhere, but they don't seem to have made it onto YouTube if they do exist.
Thanks! Looks like I will have to create an account to "borrow" it but I probably will.
Maybe things vary with the device you're using, but I was able to open it and download to my Google Drive without making an account. I printed out the violin part to test that it was working.
I think the dynamic markings and the deliberate use of rallentando at the end of sections really adds a nuance that makes the piece compelling for violinists, who tend to find fiddle tunes very dull and flat since they lack dynamics or expressive phrasing.
I think this piece is also provides some tangible evidence that the worlds of fiddling and classical playing were not so starkly divided in the past, and fiddlers were not so averse to the use of fiddle music in classical compositions as some are now. Harty was highly respected in Dublin just as much as in London.
quote:
Originally posted by The Violin Beautifulquote:
Originally posted by Brian Woodquote:
Originally posted by The Violin Beautifulquote:
Originally posted by Brian WoodSounds interesting but a quick search brought up fairly pricey options to buy. More than I would spend to just give something a try. I wonder why no recordings are available. How did you become familiar with it?
I found a pdf of the edition I used here for free:
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25611287M/Irish_fantasy?v=2
My father selected the piece for that recital. I don't know if he had played it before himself or come across it as he wrote reviews of recordings. His knowledge of violin literature is the most encyclopedic I've ever encountered.
Short pieces used to be an important part of repertoire, and many of the great players recorded them. But over time, there started to be an attitude toward them as if they were intellectually wanting and therefore only suited to encores. When Eugene Fodor started championing the shorter pieces, a lot of people acted as though he was squandering his talent by playing fluff.
I've always felt that many of the short pieces are as great as any of the concerti or sonatas and they deserve more credit.
I imagine there are other recordings of the piece out there somewhere, but they don't seem to have made it onto YouTube if they do exist.
Thanks! Looks like I will have to create an account to "borrow" it but I probably will.
Maybe things vary with the device you're using, but I was able to open it and download to my Google Drive without making an account. I printed out the violin part to test that it was working.
I think the dynamic markings and the deliberate use of rallentando at the end of sections really adds a nuance that makes the piece compelling for violinists, who tend to find fiddle tunes very dull and flat since they lack dynamics or expressive phrasing.
I think this piece is also provides some tangible evidence that the worlds of fiddling and classical playing were not so starkly divided in the past, and fiddlers were not so averse to the use of fiddle music in classical compositions as some are now. Harty was highly respected in Dublin just as much as in London.
I've been dealing with other internet issues so haven't gone back to it. I am curious to see if I have enough reading skill to play this piece. My general goal in transcribing pieces is often 'less is more', while providing accurate attention to the main details. I'm curious to see what this transcription provides that you find especially valuable. And I hope I find something in it too.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Privacy Consent (EU/GDPR Only)
Copyright 2026 Fiddle Hangout. All Rights Reserved.
