Martin Lloyd Howard’s ‘Surrey Bells’ is an instrumental work for two guitars, based on the idea of church bells ringing throughout the English countryside. The piece is inspired by a particular scene: a rural valley in Surrey on a bright winter morning, in which two sets of bells seem to reply to one another from different distances. This concept forms the basis of the entire composition, the two guitars producing the effect of a conversation and enabling the music to suggest both the sounds and the space of the imaginary landscape.
The song ‘Surrey Bells’ was recorded at home on a Tanglewood steel string guitar by overdubbing different guitar sections. The whole piece is played in DADGAD tuning, which gives the guitars a full and resonant sound. One of the sections is made to sound distant and echoey whereas the other stays more immediate. This contrast is significant for the piece since it produces the effect of sounds travelling across a valley rather than originating from one place.
The depth of ‘Surrey Bells’ comes about through the way the guitars interact. One guitar suggests the distant bells while the other acts as the reply, producing a call-and-response effect which mirrors the original image on which the piece is based. The writing and performance are said to be fluid and organic rather than structured and precise, the way in which the piece is played being just as important as the notes themselves. The outcome is at the same time meditative and dynamic, the two parts working together to enable the composition to fully ring out.
‘Surrey Bells’ is part of a series of compositions intended to evoke landscapes, images and moods, although this one is especially concerned with its Surrey setting. By using two guitars, changing the tuning and employing contrasting distances, a distinct musical picture is achieved without the need for vocals or any other instruments. The fact that it was recorded at home also means that attention is focused on the interaction between the two guitar parts. It is through this interaction that Howard transforms a simple idea of church bells ringing all over the countryside into a broad instrumental work which has a strong sense of place.
