Bells/tubular bells in orchestral music

[vers la flamme]

When the tubular bells come in in Mahler's 9th, first movement, it's a special moment, but all too brief.

[Biffo]

Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis after Themes by Carl Maria von Weber - the Turandot Scherzo has exotic sounding gongs and bells

[Wanderer]

And Stravinsky. Les Noces. A magical ending to a magical piece.

Absolutely.


Some particular favourites are already mentioned (esp. Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, Shostakovich's Symphony No. 11 and Stravinsky's Les noces).
I would add Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie, Puccini's sinister showcase for Scarpia, aka the Te Deum from Tosca, the second movement of Respighi's Feste romane (pilgrims get a first view of Rome from Monte Mario, as church bells ring in the background),  Korngold's Sinfonietta (bells in F♯ and B - esp. in two memorable passages in the exuberant final movement), as well as the beginning of Foulds' A World Requiem, in which an impressive, solemn, immutable B major chorale opens the work amid the pealing of bells.

[relm1]

Lepo Sumera Symphony No. 2 (especially last movement that modulates through every minor key where the chimes play out the newly arrived tonality each time).  I far prefer the recording by Paavo Jarvi but can't find it on youtube, but here it is from Kristjan Jarvi.

EDIT: Found Paavo Jarvi's far better version on youtube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd4DE87B67w

The third movement starts at around 11:20 but well worth hearing this brief work in its entirety. 

[Maestro267]

A few more, including one that struck me today.

Korngold - Sinfonietta finale. Out of nowhere, the sound of a fairly deep bell in F# grabbed my attention as a climactic moment in the work.

Holst - The Planets - Saturn. The bells appear a few times around the climax of the movement and then again at the very end, the whole edifice underpinned by organ pedal.

Tchaikovsky - Manfred: 3rd movement. As far as I'm can remember, the only appearance of tubular bells in Tchaikovsky's orchestral work outside of the clangour of the 1812 finale.

[kyjo]

When the tubular bells come in in Mahler's 9th, first movement, it's a special moment, but all too brief.

+1

[kyjo]

Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis after Themes by Carl Maria von Weber - the Turandot Scherzo has exotic sounding gongs and bells

Love that movement!

[kyjo]

There's some atmospheric writing for the bells in the magical coda of Novák's tone poem In the Tatra Mountains.

[relm1]

Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis after Themes by Carl Maria von Weber - the Turandot Scherzo has exotic sounding gongs and bells

One of the funnest works I've ever played in too!  Great, great music and so much fun to play. 

[aukhawk]

When the tubular bells come in in Mahler's 9th, first movement, it's a special moment, but all too brief.

Anathema! 

These should be bell plates, not tubular bells.  The sound is quite different, primeval, more tam-tam-like.  Listen to Haitink's recording with the Concertgebouw.  Now that really is a special moment.

[vandermolen]

Lepo Sumera Symphony No. 2 (especially last movement that modulates through every minor key where the chimes play out the newly arrived tonality each time).  I far prefer the recording by Paavo Jarvi but can't find it on youtube, but here it is from Kristjan Jarvi.

EDIT: Found Paavo Jarvi's far better version on youtube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd4DE87B67w

The third movement starts at around 11:20 but well worth hearing this brief work in its entirety.

+1 for Sumera Symphony No.2 - a great choice. Also for VW Symphony No.8 and Saturn from The Planets and, oh yes, In the Tartras by Novak.

[vers la flamme]

Anathema! 

These should be bell plates, not tubular bells.  The sound is quite different, primeval, more tam-tam-like.  Listen to Haitink's recording with the Concertgebouw.  Now that really is a special moment.

Really, I never knew that. On the recordings I have, they do not sound like tam-tams. Does Mahler specify in the score that these bell plates must be used?

[some guy]

Lot of interesting picks, here.

Thanks to Biffo for reminding me of the Mussorgsky. Come to think of it, I think there are bell bits in almost all of Mussorgsky's music. In almost all Russian music, for that matter.

And thanks to steve, too. Bohor is a shattering piece of music. I'm very fond of it. Hated it at first. Came to love it and cannot now think I could ever have hated it.

[pjme]

Really, I never knew that. On the recordings I have, they do not sound like tam-tams. Does Mahler specify in the score that these bell plates must be used?

In the score : "3 tiefe Glocken" ; "Plattenglocken" is not specified. Tubular bells however,  can be had in different sizes.... (cfr. Parsifal)

https://www.vsl.co.at/de/Plate_bells/Brief_Description
https://www.vsl.co.at/de/Plate_bells/Repertoire
https://youtu.be/ZAnY2W-NB2U
Bernstein and the Vienna PhO: https://youtu.be/IoNEeKJ2x44 (tubular bells)
Chung and the Koncertgebouw O. https://youtu.be/7NKvBNliyN8 (plate bells)

Other scores with great moments for bells:
Britten: Death in Venice, the coda of Cantata academica, Phaedra, Peter Grimes, Spring symphony...
Gordon Crosse: Changes: https://youtu.be/9EFlhWuezHo
Hindemith: Harmonie der Welt - coda : https://youtu.be/DoDBxrMrBgw
Morton Gould: Venice (first movement)
Massenet's ballet Le carillon
Higdon: concerto for orchestra (https://youtu.be/SLGp0ig1nKw)
Chostakovich: symphony 13, The execution of Stepan Rasin
Arvo Pärt: Arbos (brass + perc), Ives: From the steeples and the mountains + coda symphony 3
Eugen Suchon: Fantazia on B-A-C-H for Strings, Percussion and Organ: https://youtu.be/MUoAeps2ZCk (go to ca. 19.30)
Gabriel Pierné: Paysages franciscains  (Au jardin de Sainte Claire : very subtle cloches-tubes "lointain")
Debussy: Iberia ( superb transition from Parfums de la nuit to Le matin d'un jour de fête)
Kodaly: Hary Janos....
Toshiro Mayuzumi: Nirvana symphony : https://youtu.be/IUnAHyZD_d4

https://youtu.be/tskLTYfxBFA
https://youtu.be/vC4hhq1ZjvI

Dimitri Tiomkin: Lost horizon. Go to ca. 16.05 for the "Funeral procession".
https://youtu.be/TD148VfMJlo

[techniquest]

Chung and the Koncertgebouw O. https://youtu.be/7NKvBNliyN8 (plate bells)

Thanks for that link. In that section however, it sounds to me that one of the kettledrums is out of tune.

For bells, I would add Hovhaness' "Fra Angelico". In this sole commercial recording, the bells section starts at 8.55.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru3bOrm8_WY

[relm1]

Did anyone mention Janacek's Taras Bulba yet during the ending?

[Biffo]

Did anyone mention Janacek's Taras Bulba yet during the ending?

Not that I noticed but it is a fine work, well worth a mention.

The climactic Nachtlied section of Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra heavily features bells. In his Third Symphony Mahler sets Zarathustra's Midnight Song - the poem has the tolling of bells (Eins! Zwei! etc) in alternate lines but Mahler omits them. He doesn't overtly uses bells at all but there is a tolling in the lower strings.

[Cato]

The bells in Cesar Franck's Le Chasseur Maudit are used to great effect:

https://www.youtube.com/v/GGraYe4i3qI

[Symphonic Addict]

I appreciate all of the kind responses. There are works I don't know at all.

I found this:

https://www.youtube.com/v/0T-H-fVlHE0

Mesmerizing and thought-provoking I thought.

[aukhawk]

The climactic Nachtlied section of Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra heavily features bells. In his Third Symphony Mahler sets Zarathustra's Midnight Song - the poem has the tolling of bells (Eins! Zwei! etc) in alternate lines but Mahler omits them. He doesn't overtly uses bells at all but there is a tolling in the lower strings.

But then in the very next movement Mahler overtly references bells by having his children's choir sing "Bimmm, Bammm, Bimmm, Bammm" all the way through - one of my favourite Mahler moments.