Listen to Norman Harper performing Carillon de Matin on 14th October 2006 at St John the Evangelist, Islington

Carillon de Matin (1989)

‘Carillon de Matin’ is a tuneful and virtuosic work that falls into three main sections. The opening Allegro molto e con brio is characterised by a joyous theme reminiscent of a peal of bells, with irregular phrase lengths and constantly changing time signatures. The music explores various tonal relationships around the key centre of D major. The central Adagio is full of dynamic contrast and takes its main theme from my own earlier setting of ‘Ave Verum Corpus’ (a favourite piece of the dedicatees). The final section is a truncated recapitulation of the opening Allegro molto. The work ends triumphantly and emphatically in D major. ‘Carillon de Matin’ was written in 1989 for the marriage of my friends Paul Goodwill-Hodgson and Jennifer Ostreicher. It was first performed at their wedding in Connecticut. Since then the piece has received many performances, most notably in England, the USA and Europe. ‘Carillon de Matin’ is available on a CD recorded by Norman Harper at the organ of Bolton Town Hall (Cardinal CSCD104).

Duration: 7 minutes
Available from: the composer
Price: £3.00