Byrd-Bells, The arr. Raush (SP)-B/2V/C/X/M/4T/P/opt. PN

John Raush has captured the essence of William Byrd's work "The Bells", with this arrangement. The movement opens with the haunting sounds of two pitched gongs in C and D. The piece goes on to display an imitative texture through most of the piece.

Duration: 3:28
Number of Players: 13
Difficulty: Grade 3+
Instrumentation:

Player I: Glockenspeil

Player II: Vibraphone 1

Player III: Vibraphone 2

Player IV: Chimes

Player V: Xylophone

Player VI: Marimba 1

Player VII: Marimba 2

Player VIII: Marimba 3

Player IX: Marimba 4

Player X: Timpani

Player XI: Piano

Player XII: Finger Cym, Sus Cym, Bass Drum

Player XIII:Tam, Crash Cym, Tuned Gongs (C,D)

Born in London at the end of 1539 or early 1540, William Byrd was the foremost composer of the Elizabethan age and among the three or four English composers since the Renaissance who have stood unequivocally as equals with their continental contemporaries. A master of keyboard music and the madrigal as well as Latin and English church music, he was an organist and member of the sovereign's private religious establishment, the Chapel Royal. Yet he remained throughout his life a dedicated Roman Catholic who was persecuted as a recusant and who upheld through his art the old faith.