It has been a delight returning to Field’s seven concertos, best taken one at a time, not as a marathon. The musical value may vary between movements but it is difficult to resist Field’s lyrical grace and melodic charm, the writing veering from “Classical decorum to Romantic ardour” (Maurice Hinson). Here, clearly, is the bridge between the concertos of Mozart (listen to the Adagio of Field’s Fourth Concerto) and Chopin (try the Rondo of No 6). Not one of them is without interest, from the variations on “’Twas within a mile of Edinboro’ Town” which form the slow movement of Concerto No 1, and the finale (Moderato innocente) of No 2 in A flat, the most enduring of the seven and much praised by Schumann, to the ambitious first movement of No 5, L’incendie par l’orage, featuring a tam-tam at the height of the storm (11'30").

O’Rourke and his partners capture Field’s spirit and style to perfection, warmly recorded in a natural acoustic. There is little to choose between the Chandos team and the excellent Benjamin Frith on Naxos, a shade more forwardly and resonantly recorded, generally slightly brisker tempi and at budget price. Both pianists project the music more forcefully than the always-elegant John O’Conor on Onyx. Frith, though, does not include the two-movement Concerto No 7 which comes on Chandos’s fourth disc with a winning selection of short piano-and-orchestra works including Field’s most famous piece, the Divertissement No 1 better known in its solo version as “Midi” or the “Twelve O’Clock Rondo”.