John Ireland completed 'Sarnia', a suite of three pieces, in 1941 and it was to be his last major piano work. The music was inspired by his short-lived residence in Guernsey, an island that he loved, and Ireland's sense of the past is reflected in his use of the Roman name for Guernsey - 'Sarnia'.

The first movement, 'Le Catioroc' is a depiction of a deserted spot on the Guernsey coast from where Ireland would watch the sun set. The score is prefaced by a quotation from the Roman geographer, Pomponius Meia: "All day long heavy silence broods and a certain hidden terror lurks there" but at nightfall "the chorus of Aegipans resounds on every side, the shrilling of flutes and the clash of cymbals re-echo by the waste shores of the sea." The brooding, atmospheric music that begins and ends the movement clearly reflects the first part of the quotation, whereas the activities of the Aegipans may be heard in the more dance-like central episode.

Eric Parkin, who studied Ireland's music with the composer, made this recording of 'Sarnia' in 1978.

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