Described by Bax as the last of his Irish works, The Garden of Fand is one of the tone poems among his middle period works which tie him irrevocably to the so-called 'Celtic twilight.' Composed in 1913 and orchestrated in 1916, the piece received its US première in Chicago in 1920, instantly establishing Bax as master of the orchestral medium. Its importance to the composer is easily understood from a 1930 letter to Harriet Cohen in which he proclaimed "...there is probably more stability in The Garden of Fand than in any of my symphonies."

The Garden of Fand is, in fact, the sea, and the music begins by evoking a small ship on a calm sea, thrown by a wave onto Fand's magical island. Distinctly Celtic themes abound as celebrations ensue, and the enchanted ocean dominates the musical scene as the ravening waters finally engulf all, leaving the immortals to ride the waves into the gathering dusk.

Delius was a great admirer of this piece, as well as Tintagel - though he did not hold much regard for Bax's symphonies. It is probably the closest the composer comes to program music, though Bax specifically denied any literal interpretation, while at the same time providing a detailed description of what the piece should evoke. It remained one of the central works in public performance of Bax's music until a revival of the symphonies began in the 1980s. Its sweeping orchestration and lyrical themes justify its continuing popularity and explain why it was used as the basis for Frederic Ashton's 1952 New York ballet 'Picnic at Tintagel.'

The poem which inspired this work closes with the hero Cuchulain setting off for the world beyond the seas. There is a certain irony, therefore, in the fact that The Garden of Fand was the last piece of music Bax ever heard performed, at a concert of his works given some four days before his death in Cork in 1953.

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