In the Hall of the Mountain King
Enter the majestic mountain domain in this lively rendition of Edvard Grieg’s iconic “In the Hall of the Mountain King” from his Peer Gynt Suite (No. 1). True to the orchestral original, this piece starts out soft, dark and wary; then gains in confidence, volume and speed until it is almost frantic at the end. A great example for teaching tempo descriptions, the markings throughout (such as “Affrenttando” and “Minacciando”) guide ringers in both tempo and the character of their ringing (all musical terms are defined in the footnotes). And, true to the original, a steady accelerando starts mid-piece and continues to the end. Musical form is also clearly laid out (A, B, Coda) to help recognize and relate the various sections that repeat, making learning the piece simpler. For Level 3 3-5 oct. handbells, a few ringers have more challenging parts due to bell changes: They will benefit from using 4iH or quick weaving at times. “In the Hall of the Mountain King” uses mallets, thumb damps and marts throughout, but it can also be played on hand chimes (as we did during the pandemic of 2021) by omitting the techniques. A cymbal or drum roll (or mallet roll on bells) at the end is optional. Scored in F minor with 4 flats, every ringer plays at least one accidental (all flats) but there are no shared bells - allowing it to be played at widely spaced tables (if needed) without requiring duplicate bells. Your ringers will love playing this grand, hypnotic theme over and over, with added variations and speed as they move from one section to the next; and your audience will enjoy hearing this familiar haunting tune translated into bells. At 2:45 performance time, it’s perfect as a showy little “palate cleanser” in a school or community concert - or as a challenge piece at festival for ringers to stay together through the tempo changes.
More creative pieces in the “True Music” (concert and worship music) and “Class ring” (pieces with a pedagogical (teaching) focus) series can be found at www.handbellworld.com by searching under the “Series” category in the Music Selection Assistant. Find all ringTrue pieces by entering “RE” in the Stock # Search box and all pieces by Kathleen Wissinger by entering “Wissinger” in the composer box. Check out ringTrue’s Facebook page for updates and new releases, and Handbell Educators FB page for ideas for ringing in the classroom. Let’s Ring!