Mícheál O Súilleabháin (1950 – 2018) was, for many years, one of Ireland’s most popular and respected musicians. As a piano player and composer, his music straddled the worlds of traditional Irish music and contemporary orchestral settings. His piano playing – whether as a soloist, in a group setting or with his regular orchestral partners the Irish Chamber Orchestra – was honed to explore and interpret the nuances of Irish music on an instrument not generally associated with the tradition. The combination of his arrangements and personal performance style brought new resonance to slow airs and dance tunes alike, while his own compositions have become as familiar as many of the traditional pieces he played. He was also a well-known writer/presenter – his River of Sound series was broadcast on RTE in Ireland & the BBC in the UK. As an academic and Professor of Music, he founded The Irish World Academy of World Music and Dance at the University of Limerick.

Elver Gleams, originally issued in 2010 in Ireland, collects a number of his key recordings originally issued by Venture Records (part of Virgin Records) between 1987 and 2001, along with (then) previously unreleased tracks including piano and orchestral arrangements of two of his most celebrated arrangements: Christmas Eve - Oíche Nollag and The Fox Chase - Fiach An Mhadra Rua.