It was Edward Elgar who brought Arnold Bax's music to the attention of conductor Sir Henry Wood; as a result, Wood commissioned Bax to write a piece for the 1910 season of Promenade Concerts. Bax's efforts produced In the Faery Hills, which was later incorporated into an Irish-themed orchestral trilogy titled Eire. (The other two works in the set are Into the Twilight and Rosc-Catha.)

As is the case with much of the composer's orchestal catalogue, Bax's inspiration for In the Faery Hills came from Irish mythology. According to the source legend, the wanderer/harpist Oisin is led astray to the isles of revelry; there, a group of immortals unable to compete with the beauty of his playing cast his instrument into the waters.

Scored for the large orchestra much favored by Bax, In the Faery Hills displays the deft orchestration which distinguishes much of the composer's early work. Bax's harmonies are colored with a Debussy-like delicacy; the predominant musical flavor, however, is undeniably Celtic. The work, one of Bax's first to gain wide exposure, played a significant role in establishing the composer's reputation in the years leading up to World War I.

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