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Chiming is a rather ornamental, contemplative nocturne, the use of piano resonance, together with the way pitches are repeated within the same harmonic fields, suggesting the technique of change ringing and, hence, the title.
Another metaphor which suggests itself in connection with this piece is that of a walk in a garden. A thread of notes heard at the opening – later subject to ornamentation and transformation – acts like a pathway. Occasionally the path is overgrown; one stops, leaves the path, retraces one’s steps or looks sideways.
A line of descending intervallic steps acts as a secondary element (at the first appearance of two-part writing). Several diverse episodes ensue, but their clear derivation from these simple models should be aurally apparent, together with the ‘floating’ quality of the music, reinforced by extensive use of the pedal(s).
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