This piece was specially written for one of the annual evening recitals I do at graduation weekend at Culver. I have always loved the effect of a carillon at night, when the surrounding area tends to be quieter, and there is a special intimacy in the listening experience. My ongoing need for more music appropriate to such a setting led me to write this piece. Many compositions entitled "carillon" are built around ostinati (repeating patterns of notes) suggestive of a set of swinging bells ringing over and over, rather than being evocative of a true carillon. Drawing inspiration from organ (Marcel Dupré's lively Carillon), piano (Liszt's Evening Bells), and other carillon music (Johan Franco's many Nocturnes), I wrote this piece using a series of ostinato patterns coming and going as the piece unfolds. Initially, the piece begins quietly, gradually building as various insects and birds become active at night. Occasionally, a broad, sweeping figuration suggests a nighttime breeze. Ultimately, the figurations move to the highest range of the carillon (twinkling stars) and the piece settles down to a tranquil conclusion. Tonally, the piece is predominantly in "Dorian" mode base on "e." The diatonic nature of it makes it very effective on meantone carillons as well as on modern ones, as performances at Antwerp, Ghent, and Brielle (all Hemony carillons) have proven.

—John Gouwens