Westminster Quarters
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Westminster-chimes.mid: a midi file of the Westminster Quarters striking six o'clock |
The Westminster Quarters is the most common name for a melody used by a set of clock bells to strike the hour. It is also known as the Westminster Chimes, or the Cambridge Chimes from its place of origin.
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[edit] Description
The melody consists of five different permutations of four pitches, which can be played in any key. In this description, we will refer to them using the conventional key of C Major: G, C, D, and E (the Palace of Westminster chimes are in fact in the key of E). These permutations are:
| 1) | E, D, C, G |
| 2) | C, E, D, G |
| 3) | C, D, E, C (or sometimes C, E, D, C; in either case "malformed", as it lacks G) |
| 4) | E, C, D, G |
| 5) | G, D, E, C |
played as three quarter notes and a dotted half note. A different sequence of these permutations is played at each quarter-hour: one set at the first quarter, two sets at the half, and so forth, as follows:
| First quarter: | (1) |
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| Half-hour: | (2) (3) |
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| Third quarter: | (4) (5) (1) |
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| Full hour: | (2) (3) (4) (5) |
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The full hour strike is followed by one strike for the number of the hour (one strike for one o'clock, two strikes for two o'clock, etc.).
In other words, a cycle of five permutations, (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), is repeated twice during the course of an hour. For a clock chiming mechanism, this has the advantage that the mechanism that trips the hammers need only store five sequences (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) instead of ten. The mechanism then plays two complete sets of five sequences for each complete hour. In musical terms, the first and third quarters finish on the dominant (G), whilst the second and fourth quarters (the half and full hours) finish on the tonic (C). This produces the very satisfying musical effect that has contributed so much to the popularity of the chimes.
[edit] History
This chime is traditionally, though unsubstantiatedly, believed to be a set of variations on the four notes that make up the fifth and sixth measures of "I know that my redeemer liveth" from Handel's Messiah. It was written in 1793 for a new clock in St Mary the Great, the University Church in Cambridge. There is some doubt over exactly who composed it: Revd Dr Joseph Jowett, Regius Professor of Civil Law, was given the job, but he was probably assisted by either Dr John Randall (1715-99), who was the Professor of Music from 1755, or his brilliant undergraduate pupil, William Crotch (1775-1847).
In the mid-19th century the chime was adopted by the clock tower at the Palace of Westminster (where Big Ben hangs), whence its fame spread. It is now possibly the most commonly used chime for striking clocks.
[edit] Words
According to tradition, the tune has words: "O Lord our God/Be Thou our guide/That by thy help/No foot may slide." An additional rendering of the lyrics changes the third line: "O Lord our God/Be Thou our guide/So by Thy power/No foot shall slide." A variation on this, to the same tune, is sung at the end of a Brownie meeting in the UK. "Oh Lord our God/Thy children call/Grant us Thy peace/And bless us all". According to an inscription in the clockroom of Big Ben, the lyrics are "All through this hour/Lord, be my guide/And by Thy power/No foot shall slide."
[edit] Musical references
The melody of the Westminster Quarters has been used in many other clocks. Among the musical works that make specific reference to the original are:
- Louis Vierne, the French organist-composer, quoted the tune repeatedly in his organ piece Carillon de Westminster.
- A London Symphony, by Ralph Vaughan Williams, quotes the quarters at the beginning and end of the piece (according to the quotation, only a quarter of an hour has passed, although the symphony is considerably longer).
- The Westminster Waltz, a 1956 piece of light music by Robert Farnon similarly quotes the chimes a number of times during the piece. For many years, it was used as a linking theme for the radio programme in In Town Tonight.
- The theme tune to Yes Minister is based on the quarters.
