Stabat Mater

Bells have been at the centre of the Christian community since the earliest days, calling the faithful to prayer, celebrating births, marriages and deaths, and commemorating major national events. With the creation of the Church of England in the late sixteenth century, following the church's break away from Rome, English bell ringers developed the ringing of bells in patterns, with bells being rung in strict rotation, known as 'methods'. This was the foundation of 'English Change Ringing'.

While the tubular bell part of Stabat Mater contains no actual methods, there are examples of phrases influenced by method ringing, where a limited number of pitches, mostly numbering five or seven notes, are rotated and repeated. These often link the vocal phrases, which themselves reflect the dramatic elements of the text, such as the weeping Mother of Christ, the pain and suffering of the dying Saviour and the aspirations of the believing writer for a safe termination, redeemed through Christ's agony.