Klokken voor Haarlem (4 Players)

By Louis Andriessen

4 Players: Piano, Celesta, Synth, Vibes/Bells

Klokken voor Haarlem is a quartet that uses wide, unison chords to emulate the sound of bells.   Scored for Piano, Synthesizer, Celesta, and Vibraphone/Bells player, this piece challenges the small ensemble to make perfect entrances amidst long pauses across each measure of 7/4 time.  The chords are seemingly atonal, but as the piece progresses a clear harmonic progression makes itself apparent, changing the tone and mood of the piece.  After several bell statements is a made flurry of sextuplets in each part.  Later on, a melody makes its way through the noise, but cannot prevail, and the piece ends with the bells as it started.  Duration of this piece is roughly 8 Minutes.

 

Annotated by Robert McCarthy