H95 The Bell (2022)
To be first performed by Ben Goldscheider and Richard Uttley.
Instrumentation: Horn and Piano
Duration: 10’
Programme note:
The moment that I heard the section of horn and piano music in my quintet, ʻCloud Shadowʼ, that I had written for the Nash Ensemble in 2020, I immediately felt that it could be the opening music for a short piece for the two instruments alone. I quote about 16 bars exactly, but then they go off on a completely different trajectory for another nine minutes or so. The piano is marked ʻquasi campanaʼ or bell-like and it seemed like the whole piece should have the memory of bells about it. The piece is dedicated to the performers of the piece; horn player, Ben Goldscheider and pianist, Richard Uttley.
SH
18 March 2022
Review:
Simon Holt’s The Bell was written for them [Ben Goldscheider and Richard Uttley] in 2022, its arresting opening – slightly spiky and precisely articulated – giving way to striking exchanges between the instruments with the glistening bell-like sounds at the top of the keyboard offering the perfect foil to the horn’s mellifluous phrases, its final clarion statement an almost defiant gesture.
Rian Evans, The Guardian, 26 January 2026