A Peal of Bells (op. 47)

This adagio for strings, tubular bells and celesta is a musical representation of bells pealing in a rugged landscape with vast snow-capped mountain peaks in the not-too-far distance. The tolling of the bells is sometimes soft and indistinct, at other times overwhelming and awe-inspiring. The bells both mourn and celebrate. They are sometimes heard on full-chorded bowed strings, at other times on lightly plucked strings. Soft, delicate bell-like tones are heard on celesta, while later, great booming fate-filled funereal bells ring out over the full orchestra with the help of tubular bells.

The work is in a personalized sonata-rondo form that sees a growth and transformation of its ideas in the course of twelve and a half slow minutes. The tonality, although wide-ranging, is unified. The thematic material consists of three ideas: a theme stated at the beginning on a small group of muted strings, a poignant idea on solo cello that expands and returns in various guises, and a lyrical theme stated initially on two high solo violins. The ever-present high solo cello is given the role of a voice intoning, and is sometimes sorrow-filled, at other times assertive. Two major climaxes are reached in the course of A Peal of Bells, as great mountains and church steeples loom towards the listener, then overwhelm. The work’s coda sees the recall of the opening theme, this time on full orchestra in widely spaced, bell-like chords, heard as if from afar.