Chorus of the Bells by Leoncavallo arr. Cary Dachtyl

The Chorus of Bells, from Leoncavallo’s Il Pagliacci, is an arrangement of the vocal chorus of towns people on their way to vespers before a night at the traveling show. Little do they know what’s in store for them. The chorus starts very strong and fades away as the villagers move off to the church and ends quietly.

Although mostly a mallet ensemble, the timpani and added orchestral percussion really adds to the piece. Both marimba parts can be performed on a single instrument. If a 5 octave is available, the performer may transpose some of the Marimba 2 parts to a lower octave.