Sound the Bells!
At-A-Glance
Composed: 1993
Length: c. 3 minutes
Orchestration: 3 flutes (3rd=piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 3 clarinets (3rd=bass clarinet), 3 bassoons (3rd=contrabassoon), 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, tuba, percussion (bass drum, chimes, cymbals, glockenspiel, mark tree, tuned drum, and vibes), timpani, harp, piano, and strings
First Los Angeles Philharmonic performance: September 8, 1995, John Williams conducting
About this Piece
John Williams composed the festive Sound the Bells! for the Boston Pops Orchestra’s 1993 tour of Japan, which happened to coincide with the wedding of Crown Prince Naruhito and Masako Owada. Said the composer: “I thought our concerts would present a good opportunity to celebrate the event by offering a fanfare written especially for them. I’ve always been fascinated by the huge Japanese temple bells, and while I made no attempt to emulate these, they were a kind of inspiration for the prominent use of percussion.”
Williams originally composed the piece as a fanfare for brass and percussion but later orchestrated it for full orchestra and recorded it for his 2002 American Journey album. This joyous, celebratory piece doesn’t suggest Japan but rather takes full advantage of the bright, sparkling sounds of Western symphonic tradition and serves as an ideal curtain raiser. —Jon Burlingame