On Hearing the Oxford Bells at Eventide

Notes

On Hearing the Oxford Bells at Eventide was commissioned for the Oxford Orchestra da Camera in celebration of its tenth anniversary in 2002. It is a musical response to Sir John Betjeman’s famous poem Church of England Thoughts occasioned by hearing the bells of Magdalen Tower, from the Botanic Garden, Oxford, on St. Mary Magdalen’s Day. The work was premiered in its original arrangement for Narrator and Orchestra, on 28th September 2002, at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford. Henry Kelly was the Narrator, and the Oxford Orchestra da Camera was conducted by Howard Williams.