Philip Sparke

The Song Of The Bell

The Song of the Bell was commissioned by Stadtmusikkapelle Wilten, from Innsbruck, Austria, and premiered by them on 21st April 2012, conducted by Peter Kostner. The piece is based on Friedrich Schiller's epic 1798 poem Das Lied von der Glocke (The Song of the Bell), which is one of the most famous (and, at 430 lines, one of the longest) in all German literature. The poem draws a close parallel between human life and the process of casting a bell, something Schiller knew intimately from childhood, as his family lived close to the bell foundry in Ludwigsburg. The poem compares the joys and sorrows of human existence with the various stages of bell production and meditates on the contrasting moments in life when bells play an important part, such as celebrating civic events, raising an alarm and their different roles in religious ceremonies.