(Fr. sonnailles, cloches à vache; Ger. Kuhglocken, Kuhschellen, Almglocken, Herdenglocken; It. cencerro).
Clapper bells (see Bell (i)) suspended from the necks of cows and other herd animals. Those in orchestral usage are similar in shape and sound but are often clapperless, in which case they are struck with a drumstick. They are classified as idiophones: percussion vessels. Various types include (1) those made by folding and riveting or otherwise joining metal plates; (2) wooden bells; (3) cast campaniform bronze bells. The metal variety includes a number of well-known shapes, the open end varying from rectangular to oval, and the height frequently greater than the diameter. Wooden specimens take spectacular shapes and large proportions; examples from Java are over 75 cm wide.
Cowbells are particularly associated with the Alps where, in addition to the tintinnabulation of small bells, the deeper sound of the large bell worn by the champion milk-yielder can be heard. Sounds of this description are captured in orchestral works, notably Mahler’s Sixth Symphony (Herdenglocken to be shaken intermittently) and Richard Strauss’s Alpensinfonie. A small clapperless cowbell is specified by Constant Lambert in The Rio Grande.
A chromatic series of cowbells has entered the percussion section of the orchestra; at the end of the 20th century four octaves were available (f–f''''). It would be difficult for a single player to play such a large set, as progressively heavier mallets are required as the bells become larger and lower. The use of chromatic cowbells in the orchestra is largely attributable to Messiaen, who called for two octaves in Sept haïkaï (1962), three octaves in Couleurs de la cité céleste (1963) and three and a half octaves, played by three players, in Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum (1964). Peter Schat’s Signalement (1961) also employs three and a half octaves. In Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Gruppen (1955–7) eight percussionists each play a series of three, four or five cowbells.
JAMES BLADES/JAMES HOLLAND