Louis Vierne - Les cloches de Hinckley (op. 55)

Les cloches de Hinckley - á mon ami J.W. Iberson Esq. Organiste á Sheffield
"Andante con moto, quasi Allegro in E major and 6/4 time. At the opening the distant echo of bells is heard in alternating fourths, rapidly becoming louder and more animated, to emerge as the pedal accompaniment to the main theme. Vierne borrowed this theme from the chimes of the English town of Hinckley (not far from Coventry). After a short transition the theme appears in the relative minor in the tenor followed by soprano, accompanied by the fourths in ascending and descending figurations, first in crotches, then in quavers. In the following section the theme is treated in inversion as a canon between soprano and bass. From this develops a symphonic build-up leading to the reprise of the theme in the pedal in the home key of E major. To the carillon-like accompanying fourths Vierne now adds fast descending scale figures in the right hand, a characteristic feature of English bell-ringing. At the close the descending scale of E major is presented 28 times in a row!" (Ben van Oosten)

Ben van Oosten
Cavaillé-Coll-Organ Saint-Ouen, Rouen

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[irkibby]

Goodness me that is glorious. I've rung at Hinckley several times and they are utterly superb bells.