Carillon
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A carillon (English pronunciation: /ˈkærɨlɒn/, /ˈkærɨljɒn/, or /kəˈrɪljən/; French: [kaʁijɔ̃]) is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord. A carillon is played by striking a keyboard - the keys of which are sometimes called batons - with the fists, and by pressing the keys of a pedal keyboard with the feet. The keys mechanically activate levers and wires that connect to metal clappers that strike the inside of the bells, allowing the performer on the bells, or carillonneur, [1] to vary the intensity of the note according to the force applied to the key.
The carillon is the heaviest of all extant musical instruments;[2] the total weight of bells alone can be 100 tons in the largest instruments.
The greatest concentration of carillons is still found in the low countries in Europe: the Netherlands, Belgium, and Northern France, where they were symbols of civic pride and status. Some of the most spectacular are now protected by UNESCO as part of the world heritage site the Belfries of Belgium and France.
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[edit] History
In medieval times, swinging bells were first used as a way of notifying people of fires, storms, wars and other events. A ringing of bells rung from the lowest note to the highest note indicated that an attack had taken place. The use of bells in a musical fashion originated in the 16th century in the Low Countries. The first carillon was in Flanders in Oudenaarde where in 1510 a fool performed music on the bells of the town hall in 1510 with making use of a baton keyboard. The word 'carillon' is from the French 'quadrillon' what means four bells. The people had to know what time it is an just before the strike of the hour bell a few tones of small bells were heard to attend the man in the street that it was coming. A nowadays very good example is the West Minster Chimes what can be heard in Londen on the Big Ben
In the 17th century, François and Pieter Hemony developed the art of bell-founding, designing, and tuning, which they passed on to Antwerp bellfounder Melchior de Haze. In the 18th century, several members of the Van den Gheyn bellfounders dynasty also mastered the skill of bell tuning, such as Andreas Joseph Van den Gheyn. Unfortunately his techniques also died with him. It was not until 1874 in France where the firm of Amédée Bollée and sons made a reasonable well tuned carillon for the John the Baptist Cathedral in Perpignan in the south. Some years later an English priest Athur J. Simpson alo re-invented the tuning of the bells. In England the needed well tuned sets of bells for changeringing.
[edit] 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.
- The "keyboard" of a carillon is called a baton console.
- A concert carillon has a range of at least four octaves (47 bells). This is sometimes referred to as the "standard-sized" carillon.
The Riverside Carillon in New York City has (or did have—there may be other instruments with larger bourdons) the largest tuned bell in the world, which sounds the C two octaves below middle C on the piano.
- Travelling or mobile carillons are not placed in a tower, but can be transported. Some of them can even be played indoor—in a concert hall or church—like the mobile carillon of Frank Steijns.[3]
The World Carillon Federation defines a carillon as "A musical instrument composed of tuned bronze bells which are played from a baton keyboard. Only those carillons having at least 23 bells be taken into consideration".</ref> or the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America.[4] The GCNA as of 2000 has disqualified all instruments in which more than 12 bells are played electrically. Twelve bells are allowed so that automatic chiming of tunes may take place. Chiming means that one bell at a time is usually played.
The carillonneur or carillonist is the title of the musician who plays the carillon. The carillonneur/carillonist usually sits in a cabin beneath the bells and presses down, with a loosely closed fist, on a series of baton-like keys arranged in the same pattern as a piano keyboard. The batons are almost never played with the fingers as one does a piano, though this is sometimes used as a special carillon playing technique. 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 played with a pedal keyboard. These notes can either be played with the hands or the feet.
To a musician's ear, a carillon can sound "out of tune." Poorly tuned bells often give this impression and also can be out of tune with themselves. This is due to the unusual harmonic characteristics of foundry bells, which have strong overtones above and below the fundamental frequency. Foundry bells are tuned to have the following set of partials (overtones):
- Octave above prime
- Fifth
- Minor third
- Prime and strike tone resultant
- Hum tone (an octave below prime)
There is a major 10th, 12th, and 15th which are not typically individually tuned, but are usually present anyway. They all combine to create a "resultant" pitch, which is in unison with prime on a well-tuned bell. Properly tuned bells emphasize the fundamental frequency of the bell.
There is no standard pitch range for the carillon. In general, a concert carillon will have a minimum of forty-eight bells. The range of any given instrument usually depends on funds available for the fabrication and installation of the instrument: more money allows more bells to be cast, especially the larger, more costly ones. Older carillons can be transposing instruments, generally transposing upward. Most modern instruments sound at concert pitch. A carillon clavier has both a manual and a pedal keyboard.
Carillon music is typically written on two staves. Notes written in the bass clef are generally played by the feet. Notes written in the treble clef are played with the hands. Pedals range from the lowest note (the bourdon) and may continue up to two and half octaves. In the North American Standard keyboard, all notes can be played on the manual.
Because of the acoustic peculiarities of a carillon bell (the prominence of the minor third, and the lack of damping of sound), music written for other instruments needs to be arranged specifically for the carillon.
The combination of carillon and other instruments, while possible, is generally not a happy marriage. The carillon is generally far too loud to perform with most other concert instruments. The great exceptions to this are some late twentieth- and early twenty-first century compositions involving electronic media and carillon. In these compositions, sound amplification is able to match the extreme dynamic range of the carillon and, in the case of sensitive composers, even the most delicate effects are possible. Brass music is often heard together with a (traveling) carillon.
[edit] Varia
- Modern imitation instruments (such as those made by Schulmerich) use semantra (rectangular metal bars roughly the diameter of a pencil, but of varying lengths) struck by an electric solenoid. They may be played from a keyboard, organ console, or by means of music rolls. The resulting sound is electronically amplified and broadcast by loudspeakers. Although called "carillons" or "electronic carillons", their sound does not conform to the definitions given by the World Carillon Federation.
- Recording the carillon is notoriously difficult. The extreme amount of sound waves that are generated and the layout of a carillon present problems not found in normal recording situations. PZM microphones can handle the enormous waves of sound, but it isn't possible to decide on the location of the microphones without experimentation.
[edit] Composers for carillon
- George Crumb
- Margriet Ehlen
- Wim Franken
- Hans Kockelmans
- Vincent Persichetti
- Frank Percival Price
- Olesya Rostovskaya
- Roman Turovsky-Savchuk
- Merlijn Twaalfhoven[5][6]
[edit] Notable musicians
- Ronald Barnes (1927–1997) – United States
- Jeff Davis – University of California, Berkeley, United States
- Jef Denyn (1862–1941) – Belgium
- Jacob van Eyck (1590–1657) – Netherlands
- Wim Franken (1922–2012) – Netherlands
- Robert Grogan (born 1944) – United States
- Hans Uwe Hielscher (born 1945) – Germany
- Frank DellaPenna – United States
- Frank Percival Price (1901–1985) – Canada
- Frank Steijns (born 1970) – Netherlands
- Rosemarie Seuntiëns (born 1970) – Netherlands
- David Christensen – University of California, Riverside, United States
- Wendell Westcott (1911–2010) – Michigan State University, United States
- Tin-Shi Tam – Iowa State University, United States
- Olesya Rostovskaya – Russia
- Margo Halsted – University of Michigan, United States
- Dr. Steve Knight – Samford University, United States
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[edit] Instruments by country
Overview of highest concentrations of carillons (as defined by the World Carillon Federation) (data September 2006):
Region | Surface area (km²) |
Number of carillons |
Concentration per 1000 km² |
|
---|---|---|---|---|
Netherlands | 41,526 | 182 | 4.383 | |
Belgium | 30,528 | 89 | 2.915 | |
Flanders and Brussels | 13,683 | 66 | 4.824 | |
Wallonia | 16,844 | 23 | 1.365 | |
Nord, France[7] | 5,743 | 15 | 2.612 | |
Côte d'Or, France[8] | 8,763 | 5 | 0.571 | |
Denmark | 43,098 | 23 | 0.534 | |
for comparison only: | ||||
USA | 9,631,420 | 164 | 0.017 | |
Australia | 7,741,220 | 2 | 0.0002 |
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Netherlands Carillon, Arlington, Virginia, USA.
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Lurie Tower, North Campus, University of Michigan, view from the East.
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Storke Tower, the 175-foot University of California, Santa Barbara bell tower with a 61-bell carillon.
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The 161-foot University of California, Riverside bell tower with a 48-bell carillon.
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Denny Chimes, University of Alabama, completed in 1929.
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Campanile and 50‐bell Stanton Memorial Carillon, Iowa State University, Ames.
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University of Northern Iowa Campanile and 47‐bell carillon, built in 1926, Cedar Falls.
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Jane A. Meyer Carillon, Missouri State University, Springfield.
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Cleveland Tower, Princeton University Graduate College with a 67‐bell carillon.
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Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, the University of Chicago, with the 72-bell Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Carillon.
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Duke University Chapel's 50-bell carillon, played daily.[9]
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The Bok Singing Tower, a 60-bell carillon cast by Taylor houses the Anton Brees Carillon Library and the archives of the GCNA.
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National Carillon, Canberra, Australia: 55 bells, 50 metre tower.
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National War Memorial, New Zealand: a 74 bell carillon, including the largest carillon bell in the southern hemisphere ("Peace", 12.5 ton).
[edit] Schools
Carillon schools include the Netherlands Carillon School[10] in the Netherlands and the first international school, the Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" in Mechelen, Belgium.
In North America, one can study the carillon at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (which is home to two of only twenty-three grand carillons in the world), the University of Florida, the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music, Missouri State University, and Berea College, Berea, KY, all which offer complete courses of study. One can also take private lessons at many carillon locations, and there are universities that offer limited credit for carillon performance, such as Clemson University, University of Kansas, Iowa State University, and Marquette University.
The George Cadbury Carillon School was opened in 2006 and is the only carillon school in the United Kingdom.[11]
Another international carillon school, the Scandinavian Carillon School[12] in Løgumkloster, Denmark, was established back in 1979. It serves mainly Scandinavians, but does also cooperate with other carillon schools on a University level with student exchanging.
A number of universities and undergraduate institutions also make use of carillons as part of their tradition. SUNY Geneseo’s carillon sounds traditional clock bell tones every hour, along with various songs, everything from classical to pop, being played throughout the day. Princeton University houses a carillon of 67 bells which can be heard every Sunday afternoon and most Wednesday evenings with performances from Robin Austin, his students, and guest artists.[13] Smith College in Northampton Massachusetts completed its carillon of 48 bells in 2009, ninety years after the first bells were hung in 1919.[14] Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont also has a 48 bell carillon, which is located in the steeple of the college's Mead Memorial Chapel. [15]
Good illustrations of the tradition includes Denny Chimes[16] at the University of Alabama, Sather Tower[17] at Cal Berkeley, and the Rockefeller Carillon at the University of Chicago — the latter of which is the largest single musical instrument in the world.[18] The newest addition to the list is the Bell Tower at the University of South Alabama[19] which has a web cam of current construction.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ in Australia the carillonnist
- ^ The Mark II and Mark III Telharmonium, an early Synthesizer, were each twice as heavy as the largest carillon ever made (200 tons as compared to 100 tons).
- ^ Frank Steijns, http://www.franksteijns.com/.
- ^ The 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." The GCNA defines a "traditional carillon" as one played from a carillon mechanical baton board which are NOT electrified will; 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.
- ^ De Zingende Toren (Dutch)
- ^ Cultuurcampus Vleuterweide (Dutch)
- ^ Département du Nord in France, bordering Belgium and once part of the County of Flanders.
- ^ Département Côte d'Or in France. In the 15–16th century, the economic heartland of the Duchy of Burgundy was in the Low Countries, particularly Flanders and Brabant. The distant court in Dijon economically and culturally outshone the French one and was located in the present French département Côte d'Or within the région de Bourgogne.
- ^ "Carillon", Chapel, USA: Duke, http://www.chapel.duke.edu/building/carillon.html.
- ^ , NL: HKU, http://nbs.hku.nl/.
- ^ Carillon Summer series, IA State, 2008, http://www.music.iastate.edu/carillon/summerseries/2008/Summer2008.php.
- ^ KMS, DK: Locus Dei, http://www.locus-dei.dk/kms/.
- ^ The Class of 1892 Bells: Princeton University Carillon, USA: Princeton, http://www.princeton.edu/~gradcol/perm/carillon.htm.
- ^ Long-awaited Bell to Complete Smith College Carillon, Smith College, 16 March 2009, http://www.smith.edu/newsoffice/releases/NewsOffice09-017.html.
- ^ http://community.middlebury.edu/~carillon/mca.html
- ^ "Denny Chimes", Tour stops, Alabama, USA: UA, http://tour.ua.edu/tourstops/dennychimes.html.
- ^ "Campanile", Landmarks, Berkeley heritage, http://www.berkeleyheritage.com/berkeley_landmarks/campanile.html.
- ^ "Carillon", Rockfeller, U Chicago, http://rockefeller.uchicago.edu/architecture/carillon.shtml.
- ^ "Bell tower", World Wide Web camera, South Alabama, http://www.southalabama.edu/webcam/belltower/.
[edit] Further reading
- Boogert, Loek, André Lehr, and Jacques Maassen. 45 Years of Dutch Carillons, 1945–1990. Asten, the Netherlands: Netherlands Carillon Society, 1992. ISBN 90-900345-0-1.
- Huybens, Gilbert. Carillons et Tours de Belgique. Ghent, Belgium: Ludion Editions, 1994. ISBN 90-5544-019-1.
- Keldermans, Karel, and Linda Keldermans. Carillon: The Evolution of a Concert Instrument in North America. Springfield, IL: Springfield Park District, 1996. ISBN 0-9652252-0-8.
- Lehr, André. The Art of the Carillon in the Low Countries. Tielt, Belgium: Lannoo, 1991. ISBN 90-209-1917-2.
- Swager, Brian. A history of the carillon: its origins, development, and evolution as a musical instrument. Document (D. Mus.). Indiana University, 1993.
[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Carillons |
- World Carillon Federation
- British Carillon Society
- Guild of Carillonneurs in North America
- Mobile/traveling Carillon
- Netherlands Carillon School
- Flemish Carillon Guild
- Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn", Mechelen, Belgium
- Dutch Carillon Society, the Netherlands
- University of California at Berkeley
- Yale University Guild of Carillonneurs
- University of Kansas World War II Memorial Campanile and Carillon
- Carillon Music Audio Recordings Discography of all recordings known to have existed, by the Carillon Society of Australia
- Peace Tower Carillon, Ottawa, Canada
- The Carillon. A history of the carillon with particular attention to the carillon and carillon music in the times of Johannes Vermeer.
- Images of the Carillon Tower Niagara Falls from the Niagara Historic Digital Collections
- America's only traveling carillon
- Kirk in the Hills, world's largest carillon, 77 bells
- Rose Marie Seuntiens, NL, http://www.rosemarieseuntiens.nl/.
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