Music for chimes, bells, gongs, etc. ..

[André Le Nôtre]

Whether avant-garde or not, I would like to hear your suggestions for compositions/recordings featuring these instruments. I have always been fascinated by these types of sounds (glass and ice instruments too). I have several sets of wind chimes and bells in my backyard--both in diatonic and pentatonic scales--and I find them beyond soothing and relaxing. I have become addicted to their sound--it just seems to massage my soul. (One time, I was tempted to buy a 600$ gong at Nepenthe in Big Sur, but I knew the resulting argument with my wife would not be soothing and relaxing.)  I also love gamelan orchestras and the like. I was going to include "metallophones" in my list above, but I don't want to hear suggestions for things like xylophone concertos by Dittersdorf or whoever.

A while ago, someone posted some very interesting pieces mimicking the sound of rain, played on some type of metallophone. I would like to hear more things like that.

[Mandryka]

Strangely enough I listened to something which really impressed me last week which had long beautiful duets for bells and flute - Michael Finnissy's Contretänze, on this CD

[vandermolen]

Andrei Peterov's 'Russia of Bells', although an orchestral work, might be of interest:

[Undersea]

Hovhaness Music often features Bells, Chimes, etc.
Some Messiaen Music might fit the bill too...

[Mandryka]

https://www.youtube.com/v/SX-D7G_33aw&ab_channel=pelodelperro


https://www.youtube.com/v/oKn32hNB_w0&ab_channel=ZsigmondSzathm%C3%A1ry-Topic

[VonStupp]

I don't know if it holds any interest, but there is always the wide world of handbells as an option.

https://www.youtube.com/v/wf4Bk5pQu9w&ab_channel=RaleighRingers

https://www.youtube.com/v/eds2NXPW2sA&ab_channel=JonBlaza123

[mabuse]

I suggest this very sweet music...

Joël Grare (1961-) : Follow
Alpha (2003)
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nXfeeNlMQSSa3V3WwlSdja68e-2uX76SU

Follow, a campanologic suite in 5 movements for Chamonix bells :
"Joël Grare has created an instrument called "fan of the bells" : a chromatic keyboard of four registers from the round cow bells of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc produced by the Devouassoud bell factory, a creation that took him twenty years ..."

[Maestro267]

I can only offer examples of these sounds within orchestral music.

Olivier Messiaen frequently calls for metallic percussion. His 1962 work Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum is for woodwinds, brass and a metallic percussion section including Almglocken, tubular bells, 3 tam-tams of differing size (dominant in the 4th mvt.) and tuned gongs.

[Mandryka]

https://continuo.wordpress.com/2011/02/09/tom-johnson-nine-bells/

Tom Johnson Nine Bells

[André Le Nôtre]

Thanks. I have just started listening to some of the suggestions here. The Joel Grare is fascinating and I am searching for the disc on eBay and other sellers (no luck on Amazon). From what I hear, it seems that it is possible to alter the pitch of some of these bells after they are struck, i.e., like the Japanese koto. I look forward to reading whatever liner notes accompany the disc. Will get to the other suggestions soon.

[Xenophanes]

Japanese composer, Toshiro Mayuzumi, seemed to like bells.  His Nirvana Symphony has 3 sections called "Campanology."  It's on YT here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc7YwMLqXNE



This is not exactly chimes, bells and gongs, but Brian Slawson's Bach on Wood has interesting sounds.