Bells of The Angelus by ron amchin published on 2011-11-19T06:37:44Z November 14, 2011 University of Michigan Britton Recital Hall Composed by Ron Amchin Jeannette Fang, Piano "Bells of The Angelus" was inspired by the painting "The Angelus" by Jean-Francois Millet. The painting depicts peasant farmers in a moment of prayer, their baskets, sacks and wheelbarrow set aside—a brief moment of respite from the arduous labor of toiling in the fields. In the hazy distance is a church spire; three rings of the church bell marks the moment of prayer. As the resonance of the bells fades away, so does the spirituality of prayer, and the farmers return to their daily task of tilling the fields. Millet, who grew up in rural France, said of this work, "The idea for 'The Angelus' came to me because I remembered that my grandmother, hearing the church bell ringing while we were working in the fields, always made us stop work to say the Angelus prayer for the poor departed." The music portrays the farmers in the painting, their work in the fields interrupted by the church bells which fade away while the farmers return to their work. The somber moment of prayer still lingers in their minds. Genre Classicalcontemporary Comment by Steve Coombes love the space 2012-04-10T18:26:06Z Comment by Klaair Lg It looks so dark and strange here, very well done ! 2012-03-09T09:46:08Z Comment by mary creek This is gorgeous. 2012-03-02T07:08:08Z Comment by Joe McLeod - Songwriter Beautiful and awkwardly sparse. 2012-03-02T01:27:18Z Comment by Jonathan Hulting-Cohen Whoa...where did you just take me? 2011-11-30T23:57:43Z