''Bells Across the Meadows'' is a piece of light classical music by

Albert Ketèlbey Albert William Ketèlbey (; born Ketelbey; 9 August 1875 – 26 November 1959) was an English composer, conductor and pianist, best known for his short pieces of light orchestral music. He was born in Birmingham and moved to Lon ...

. It was published in 1921 for both orchestra and piano, and first recorded by the composer a year later. Ketèlbey called the piece a "characteristic intermezzo". In 2003 it was selected in the final poll by the BBC radio programme ''

Your Hundred Best Tunes ''Your Hundred Best Tunes'' was a BBC radio music programme, always broadcast on Sunday evenings, which presented popular works which were mostly classical excerpts, choral works, opera and ballads. The hundred tunes which made up the playlist w ...

'' and voted the 36th most popular classical tune of all time.

History

English composer

's instrumental piece ''Bells Across the Meadows'' was published by Keith Prowse & Co in 1921, in versions for both orchestra and piano.McCanna, Tom
"Bells Across the Meadows of Gozo?"
''albertketelbey.org.uk''. November 2012. The first recording, with orchestra conducted by the composer, was made in April 1922. Arrangements for varying instruments followed, and the work has been popular with brass bands. Song lyrics by the composer were added in 1927 but have rarely been recorded. The composition was selected in a 2003 poll by the BBC radio programme ''

'' and voted the 36th most popular classical tune of all time.

Theme and music

A synopsis by Ketèlbey mentions solo bells beginning the music, followed by a quiet melody in strings and

woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...

. When repeated, a "chimes effect" provides the illusion of being "heard from a distant belfry across the meadows". Bells accompany a middle section. In a

reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repea ...

of the first part, the melody is given to the cellos, accompanied by soft chimes. A last repeat is carried by "bells ringing out joyously and then gradually dying away in the distance". In 1993 music critic Tim McDonald described ''Bells Across the Meadows'' as "unashamedly sentimental", adding that it offers modern audiences evocations of "by-gone scenes" reminiscent of nostalgic and idealised

Victorian-era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardi ...

illustrations of the English countryside. The piece is in

E-flat major E-flat major (or the key of E-flat) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E minor, (or enharmonically ...

and

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

, and is marked "''Moderato''". The entry of the melody is marked "''Melodia con espressione''", and the final entry of the bells is marked "Bells ''(joyously)''".

Recordings

''Bells Across the Meadows'' has been recorded dozens of times. Ketèlbey's own recording with his concert orchestra was reissued in 2002 in volume 2 of the collection ''British Light Music'', described by a reviewer as mood music "unashamedly unrestrained and sentimental and melodramatic". The piece was included in the album ''The Immortal Works of Ketèlbey'', part of

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...

's 1969 ''Concert Series'' with the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

conducted by Eric Rogers; a 2014 reviewer of the series' CD reissue noted the

Phase 4 Stereo Phase 4 Stereo was a recording process created by the U.K. Decca Records label in 1961. The process was used on U.K. Decca recordings and also those of its American subsidiary London Records during the 1960s. Phase 4 Stereo recordings were cre ...

recording's "ear-pricking tintinnabulations". In 1995 it was recorded by the

New London Orchestra The New London Orchestra began as a body of players regularly assembled by Ronald Corp to accompany concerts given by Highgate Choral Society, and was formally founded in 1988. It developed into an orchestra specialising in rarely heard late 19th ...

conducted by

Ronald Corp Ronald Geoffrey Corp, (born 4 January 1951) is a composer, conductor and Anglican priest. He is founder and artistic director of the New London Orchestra (NLO) and the New London Children's Choir. Corp is musical director of the London Chorus, a ...

; this was later anthologized in a 2006 four-CD set called ''British Light Music Classics''. A recording is included in the BBC's 2003 six-CD collection of the final listener-poll selections for ''Your Hundred Best Tunes''.''Your Hundred Best Tunes – The Nation's Favourite Classical Music''
''discogs.com''. Retrieved 11 August 2016.

References

External links

*
Bells Across the Meadows
' (audio) performed by the

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, W ...

John Lanchbery John Arthur Lanchbery OBE (15 May 1923 – 27 February 2003) was an English-Australian composer and conductor, famous for his ballet arrangements. He served as the Principal Conductor of the Royal Ballet from 1959 to 1972, Principal Conductor ...

conducting *
The Music of Albert W. Ketèlbey / A Catalogue
compiled by Tom McCanna * Philip L. Scowcroft

{{italic title 1921 compositions Compositions by Albert Ketèlbey Compositions in E-flat major