| Composition Year | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Genre Categories | Studies; For piano; Scores featuring the piano; For 1 player |
Contents |
Complete Score
*#887970 - 2.76MB, 17 pp. - (-) - !N/!N/!N - 13×⇩ - Pseudotonal
PDF typeset by composer
Pseudotonal (2023/12/12)
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| Work Title | The Bells of Heaven Welcoming the Saints Into Glory |
|---|---|
| Alternative. Title | |
| Composer | Drehmer, Earl Richard |
| I-Catalogue NumberI-Cat. No. | IED 64 |
| Year/Date of CompositionY/D of Comp. | 1984 |
| First Performance. | 2011/07/03 |
| First Publication. | 2011 |
| Average DurationAvg. Duration | 5.8 minutes |
| Composer Time PeriodComp. Period | Modern |
| Piece Style | Modern |
| Instrumentation | piano |
| Extra Information | Etude on polyrhythm and polymeter |
The title refers to the bell-like ringing of the notes in the themes and the ending chords. I'm not saying there are bells in Heaven that welcome saints. But, it is a beautiful thought that Heaven's bells would ring to welcome the true saints -- those who truly know God and worship Him.
The font chosen for the title looks like flames of fire. Here it represents the contrast between Heaven and Hell. You don't think of Heaven as having flames. However, one of the greatest men ever to have lived was taken to Heaven in a chariot of fire and God appeared to Moses from a burning bush.
Bells of Heaven has 5 themes, a-e: "a" @ measure 1; "b" @ measure 3; "c" @ measure 4; "d" @ measure 7; "e" @ measure 37. These are varied, combined, inverted, transposed, etc. When theme "e" appears, the harmonic rhythm seems to slow down. This change produces a feeling of resolution. The idea of bells is expressed by intervals of 4ths and 5ths, piled up in chords or appearing melodically. 5-beat measures contribute to the unrest and need for resolution. Polyrhythm is introduced as 5:3 and then later used as 5:6 for resolution into 1:1 -- a kind of V - I feel. It probably works this way as thick texture resolving into thin texture. When "d" is introduced the effect is polyrhythm and polymeter at the same time. Variations take the form of melodic major thirds becoming minor thirds and vice versa, re-harmonizing a melody, chromatic or polyphonic inversion, etc. In terms of texture, the last chord has 7 of the 12 possible notes. However, it is the most restful chord of the piece.
This piece is in 15/8 time, usually using 5 beats of 3 eighth notes per beat. It displays what can be done with chords stacked in 4ths to produce a sometimes artificial tonality. It experiments with alternate rhythmic divisions, polyrhythm, polymeter, and sometimes polymeter at the same time as polyrhythm, giving the impression of two completely independant tempi. As the piece progresses, the texture becomes thicker and sometimes more dissonant. The tension builds to the point that it finally resolves into stacked perfect 5ths. The result to my ears is bells -- thus the title. There are of course no bells in Heaven welcoming us. By "saints", I mean Christians as defined in the Bible.
