Westminster Quarters

Westminster chimes
A midi file playing Westminster Quarters striking six o'clock (though not in the original key, E major)

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The Westminster Quarters is the most common name for a melody used by a set of clock bells to chime on each quarter-hour. The number of chime sets matches the number of quarter hours that have passed. It is also known as the Westminster Chimes, or the Cambridge Quarters[1] from its place of origin, the church of St Mary the Great, Cambridge.

Description

The melody consists of four different permutations of four pitches in the key of E major (1, 2, 3 and 5) plus one arrangement omitting B3 and repeating E4 (3). The pitches are B3, E4, F4 and G4.

The notes used are:

  1. g4, f4, e4, b3
  2. e4, g4, f4, b3
  3. e4, f4, g4, e4
  4. g4, e4, f4, b3
  5. b3, f4, g4, e4

played as three crotchets (quarter note) and a minim (half note). These are always played in the order 1,2,3,4,5, and each set is used twice every hour. Set (1) is played at the first quarter, sets (2) and (3) at the half, sets (4), (5) and (1) at the third quarter, and sets (2), (3), (4) and (5) at the hour, as follows:

First quarter: (1)
 \relative c'' {\time 5/4 \key e \major gis4 fis e b2|}

Half-hour: (2) (3)
 \relative c' {\time 5/4  \key e \major e4 gis fis b,2 | e4  fis gis e2|}

Third quarter: (4) (5) (1)
 \relative c'' {\time 5/4  \key e \major gis4 e fis b,2 | b4 fis' gis e2 | gis4 fis e b2|}

Full hour: (2) (3) (4) (5) + Big Ben (3 o'clock example)
 \relative c' {    \time 5/4 \key e \major e4 gis fis b,2 | e4  fis gis e2 | gis4 e fis b,2 |  b4 fis' gis e2  \bar "||"  \clef bass \time 4/4 e,1^"Big Ben"  | e1| e1 | }

The full hour chime is followed by one strike for the number of the hour by Big Ben (e3) (one strike for one o'clock, two strikes for two o'clock, etc.).

Full hour chimes
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In other words, the cycle of five, (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), is played twice in 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 (B), whilst the second and fourth quarters (the half and full hours) finish on the tonic (E). This produces the very satisfying musical effect that has contributed so much to the popularity of the chimes. Note that the pitch of the Big Ben clip is closer to F than E.

History

The Elizabeth Tower of the Palace of Westminster, the namesake of the chime

This chime is traditionally, though without substantiation, 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.[2] This is why the chime is also played by the bells of the so-called 'Red Tower' in Halle, the native town of Handel. 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.

According to the church records of Trinity Episcopal Church (Williamsport, Pennsylvania), this chime sequence was incorporated into a tower clock mechanism by the E. Howard & Co., Boston, MA. The clock and chime in Trinity's steeple base was dedicated in December 1875. It holds the distinction of being the first tower clock in the United States to sound the Cambridge Quarters.

Other uses

Words

The prayer inscribed in the Big Ben clock room[4] reads:

All through this hour
Lord, be my guide
And by Thy power
No foot shall slide.

The conventional prayers are:

O Lord our God
Be Thou our guide
That by thy help
No foot may slide.

An alternative prayer 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 prayed at the end of a Brownie meeting in the UK and Canada:

Oh Lord our God
Thy children call
Grant us Thy peace
And bless us all, Amen.

References

  1. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference 2004
  2. Claimed for example by Harrison, "Tolling Time", note 16 in Music Theory Online 6/4, October 2000.
  3. http://www.academia.edu/3678893/Audible_Information_Design_in_the_New_York_City_Subway_System_A_Case_Study
  4. These may be seen on the wall of the Mechanism Room in the Big Ben virtual tour.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, April 26, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.