Carillon

Encyclopedia : C : CA : CAR : Carillon

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For the entry about the University of Regina student newspaper, See The Carillon

A carillon is a musical instrument composed of at least 23 cup-shaped bells played from a baton keyboard using fists and feet (such an instrument with fewer than this number of bells is known as a chime). Carillon bells are made of bell bronze, approximately 78% copper and 22% tin. Carillons are normally housed in bell towers. The carillon has the widest dynamic range of any mechanical (non-electric) musical instrument.

The word "carillon" is pronounced /‖karijɔ̃/, /ˈkærɪljɒn/ or /kəˈrɪljən/ (International Phonetic Alphabet), according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

History

Carillons originated in the 15th century in the Low Countries of Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands and Northern France, when bell-makers perfected their art by tuning bells at several points so that they could be sounded together to produce concordant harmonies. The greatest concentration of carillons is still to be found in Belgium, the Netherlands, and the northern regions of France, where they were commonly installed in the grand towers of rich cities as tokens of civic pride and status.

They were usually housed in church towers, belfries, or in municipal buildings, and the same holds true for those carillons that have been installed in other parts of the world since the art of casting precisely tuned bells was rediscovered in the late 19th century. In Germany, such a carillon is also called a Glockenspiel.

Musical characteristics

Since each separate note is produced by an individual bell, a carillon's musical range is determined by the number of bells it has. Different names are assigned to instruments based on the number of bells they comprise:

• Carillons with 23 through 27 bells are referred to as two-octave carillons. Players of these instruments often use music arranged specifically for their limited range of notes.
• A concert carillon has a range of at least four octaves (47 bells).
• The carillon with largest range contains 77 bells, or six and a half octaves (Kirk in the Hills, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, United States).
• The Campanology article compares other musical bell instruments with the carillon.
• Some modern instruments (such as some made by Schulmerich) use semantra (rectangular metal bars roughly the diameter of a pencil but of varying lengths) struck by an electric solenoid. The resulting sound feeds through an electronic amplifier into audio speakers. Though sometimes called 'carillon' as well, these do not conform to the definitions given by the World Carillon FederationThe [World Carillon Federation] fixes the definition of a carillon as follows: "A carillon is a musical instrument composed of tuned bronze bells which are played from a baton keyboard. Only those carillons having at least 23 bells will be taken into consideration". or the Guild of Carillonneurs in North AmericaThe [Guild of Carillonneurs in North America] (GCNA) defines a carillon as "a musical instrument consisting of at least two octaves of carillon bells arranged in chromatic series and played from a keyboard permitting control of expression through variation of touch. A carillon bell is a cast bronze cup-shaped bell whose partial tones are in such harmonious relationship to each other as to permit many such bells to be sounded together in varied chords with harmonious and concordant effect." For the purposes of clarity, the GCNA defines a "traditional carillon" as one played from a carillon keyboard; a "non-traditional carillon" as a musical instrument with bells, but played from an electronic keyboard. Anything else is not a carillon according to the GCNA..

The carillonneur, the musician who plays the carillon, sits in a cabin beneath the bells. The carillonneur presses down, with a loosely closed fist, on a series of baton-like keys arranged in the same pattern as a piano keyboard. The keys activate levers and wires that connect directly to the bells' clappers; thus, as with a piano, the carillonneur can vary the intensity of the note according to the force applied to the key. In addition to the manual keys, the heavier bells are also connected to pedals. These notes can either be played with the hands or the feet.

Carillons worldwide

The overview of the locations of carillons with brief descriptions illustrates their variety in number of bells (from 23 to 77), in weight (from less than half a tonne to 40 tonnes and more), and age.

Bell foundries

Bellmaking is an old art. Carillon bells, which can weigh many tons, can be made in a foundry by casting or by turning on a lathe. Campanology is the study of bells — the methods of casting and tuning them, and the art or science of sounding them.

Currently open foundries

• Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry, Asten, the Netherlands [link]
• John Taylor Bellfounders, Loughborough, England [link]
• Paccard bell foundry, Annecy-le-Vieux, France
• Petit & Fritsen, Aarle-Rixtel, the Netherlands
• Kruszewski Brothers Bell Foundry, Poland [link]

Closed foundries

• Gillett & Johnston, Croydon, United Kingdom [link] (1957)
• Meneely bell foundry, New York, United States (1952)

Further reading

See also

• Campanology: Carillons (a concise chapter in the general article Campanology)
• Bell tower
• Guild of Carillonneurs in North America

External links

• [World Carillon Federation]
• [Guild of Carillonneurs in North America]
• [Yale University Guild of Carillonneurs]
• [10 Great Places to Chime in with the Bells], article published December 2 2004 in USA Today.
• [List of traditional carillons in North America]
• [List of non-traditional carillons in North America]

References

 

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