Performed by Margaret Medlyn (soprano), Jared Holt (tenor), Wade Kernot (baritone), with Orpheus Choir Wellington and Orchestra Wellington conducted by Marc Taddei
Illustration by Edmund Dulac for the first edition of Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Bells' Photo: public domain
The Bells is a choral symphony inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poem.
It is a broad emotional canvas filled with many things: innocence and joy, terror, solemnity and spirituality.
Rachmaninov's imaginative setting both supports and subverts the coloristic word-painting of Edgar Allan Poe's poem. The melancholy cast of the music is perhaps because its composition was shadowed by political and social unrest as Russia under the Romanov dynasty careened towards disaster.
There are four movements:
Silver Sleigh Bells
Mellow Wedding Bells
Loud Alarum Bells
Mournful Iron Bells
Programme note by Erica Challis
Recorded on 3 October 2020, Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington by RNZ Concert
Producer: David McCaw
Engineer: Darryl Stack
