Leprechauns were thought to have been the mythological faeries of ancient Ireland. They were naturally somewhat mischievous creatures, although not thought to be menacingly evil unless upset by inconsiderate humans. This suite for two oboes and cor anglais imaginatively sets out to recapture the kind of sound they might have made on their faery pipes, should any human ever have been fortunate enough to hear them. Perhaps Arnold Bax, that arch Celtic romantic, had heard them before he composed “The Garden of Fand” and “In the Faery Hills”.

In a strictly musical sense, the suite explores aspects of the virtuoso oboe and cor anglais technique and is related in style to an earlier work, the Duo Concertante for oboe, harpsichord and strings, written in 1967, which had also been inspired by a contemplation of the ancient superstitions of Irish folk-lore. Leprechauns (op. 67) was composed in the 1970s at the request of an oboe trio who in the end never played the music. The suite lasts approximately 9 minutes and was initially set from the revised manuscript (dated 1981) for Phylloscopus Publications by C.M.M. Nex and F.H. Nex. Leprechauns was given its first performance by the “Three Reeds” at the Century Hall, Port Regis, Shaftesbury, on March 10th 2002 in the presence of the composer.