carillon music and singing towers of the old world and the new BY w. g. rice File – 04 Chapters XXIV to XXVII, Notes, Appendices, Index, Pages 254 to 397 This document is provided for you by The Whiting Society of Ringers visit www.whitingsociety.org.uk for the full range of publications and articles about bells and change ringing CHAPTER XXIV "Dan mocht de-beiaard spelen." JULIUS DE GEYTER. HE second Carillon Congress took place at 's Hertogenbosch (Bois-le­ T duc), in August, 1925. It was largely attended and truly representative and gave ex­ cellent opportunity for a survey of the progress of the art. The members first came together on Friday, August 14, at noon, at a formal luncheon, during which they were welcomed by Baron Van Voorst Tot Voorst, Royal Com­ missioner of the Province, and by A. Brandts Buys of Velp, President of the Congress. Im­ mediately after the luncheon the delegates ad­ journed to the great hall of the Casino, where all the discussions took place. Of greatest scientific importance were the ad• dresses presented there by Professor A. vas Nunes of Rotterdam, doctor of science and physics, and of Professor W. van der Elst of Utrecht, professor of mathematics, both of DOUAI: THE BELFRY ENKHUIZEN: THE DROMEDARY TOWER SINGING TO\VERS 255 whom are specialists in the study of acoustic phenomena. Dr. vas Nunes showed, by the aid of experiments well carried out and often ren­ dered apparent to the members of the congress by projection upon a screen, some important facts relating to contours, composition of metal, and temperatures at casting and cooling which he had found existing in the carillon bells of Frans Hemony. The official report sums up his discoveries as follows: "Il a trouve notamment: (a) que les profils interieurs de meme que les profils exterieurs de ces cloches sont semblables entr'eux; ( b) que la composition chimique du metal est sensiblement constante; (c) que les vitesses de vibration des tons fondamentaux et harmoniques sont entr'elles exacte­ ment comme Jes dimensions lineaires, de legers ecarts etant dus aux variations de l'e!asticite de l'alliage sous !'influence de la temperature de la fonte et du refroidissement. Fr. Hemony a pris grand soin d'appliquer le principe de la similitude dynamique en donnant a ses cloches des formes aussi rigoureusement semblables que les circonstances du travail l'ont permis. M. vas Nunes etablit en principe que lorsque le fondeur est parvenu a mai:triser completement les difficultes inherentes au profil, a la composition du metal, a fa temperature de la fonte et au refroidissement, ii est a meme de produire des cloches de meme valeur par rapport ~la justesse de leurs tons fondamentaux et harmoniques." 256 CARILLON MUSIC Dr. vas Nunes ended by the question: Why did the ancient founders give the bell the general form in which we know it? It seems probable that Dr. vas Nunes is on the way to answer that question himself, and the congress, in expressing the hope that he would go on with his investiga­ tions, indicated its confidence in his conclusions. Dr. van der Elst in the next paper created little less than a sensation by his statements, also most fully proven by experiments projected upon the screen, that not only can the exact posi­ tion of each harmonic be definitely located in a bell but by means of instruments of his inven­ tion the vibrations of the harmonics can be made visible. Thus, he asserted, is provided an abso­ lute method of ascertaining the pitch of the har­ monics as well as establishing whether or not they are developed at the correct places in a bell. The significance of this can hardly be over-em­ phasised. No longer would it seem that any founder need be in doubt as to the pitch and quality of tone of the bell he produces. Other papers dealt with the progress of caril­ lon art in many countries. Mr. Brandts Buys told of the advance in the Netherlands since the account given by him at the first congress in SINGING TO,VERS 257 1922; Dr. G. van Doorslaer of Mechlin enu­ merated important steps Belgium had taken in the development of the carillon, and the au­ thor of this book gave details, with lantern slides, of the carillons recently installed in the United States and of those in Canada, South Africa, and Australia. Prosper Verheyden of Antwerp announced the results of the study he had lately made of carillons, existing and de­ stroyed and renewed, in French Flanders, and he also read in the closing hours of the congress a second extremely valuable paper on various carillons, past and present, at Antwerp. Mr. Verheyden, a man of the widest culture, is secretary of the Carillon School at Malines. Standing, as it were, in the background, al­ though really of the umost significance and au­ thority, he watches and fosters everything con­ nected with carillon art. He has been inti­ mately associated with Mr. Denyn for 35 or 40 years, and in addition to his labours in the caril­ lon world, he is a historian, an author and a critic. Special mention must be made of his ex­ traordinary kindness to American students at­ tending the congress as well as to interested American musicians passing through Mechlin. 258 CARILLON :MUSIC On Saturday morning the art of tuning caril­ lon bells was excellently discussed by C. F. Johnston, of Gillett and Johnston, Croydon, and on Sunday afternoon W. W. Starmer of Tun­ bridge Wells told the congress of carillons and bells in the British Isles. He gave credit to John Taylor and Company of Loughborough for the first examples of scientifically tuned bells made in recent years, and said that the Taylor Company either established or rediscovered a method of tuning harmonics, which must have been known to such founders as the Hemonys and van den Gheyn, but which had been lost to the world for at least two centuries. An outstanding paper of the congress was that by Mr. Denyn in which he discussed the key­ board of the carillon. Greatest of all carillon­ neurs though he is, and founder of modern car­ illon technique, Mr. Denyn has studied every minutest detail of the instrument. His opinion as to the keyboard, its disposition and measure­ ment, must be accepted not only as the seasoned judgment of an authority, but as the concrete experience of a practical carillonneur for over forty years. Mr. Denyn insists that the key­ board at Mechlin should be the standard. The SINGING TO"\VERS 259 oprn10n of the American students, who subse­ quently visited the carillon at Mechlin, is that Mr. Denyn possesses a keyboard which enables the performer to execute the most complicated and delicate passages with extreme ease. Un­ doubtedly the splendid towers of the Low Coun­ tries, ample in space as they are, afford the con­ structor superior advantage for placing the bells. There seems to be no reason, however, why the weight of the levers of the two upper octaves of bells, elsewhere, should be any heavier than those at Mechlin, which can be operated by the fingers, even in a triad played by one hand. Even the lowest bells in the Park Avenue, New York, installation can be played with ease by the hand without protection for the smaller fingers. Besides the addresses already mentioned, eight or ten other papers were presented during the three days of the congress, covering various interesting phases of carillon history and devel­ opment. The more important papers appear in the printed proceedings of the congress, and these can be obtained at the Mechlin Carillon School. CHAPTER XXV "The blending bell-music floats upon the air." HENRY vAN DYKE. HE quaint old town of 's Hertogen­ bosch was thronged at twilight on the T first evening of the Congress of 1925 with the crowds that passed through the narrow streets on their way to the great square, where in the shadow of St. John's magnificent cathe­ dral they waited in silence for the first notes of the opening recital, by Josef Denyn, on the new carillon. The new thirty-eight bells of this car­ illon were made by Gillett and Johnston, of Croydon, a fine Hemony bell of the old carillon having been sent them as a pattern. The new bells are very fine in tone, and the complete carillon, numbering 42 bells, 4 being from the old carillon, is extremely satisfactory. Mr. Denyn's programme commenced at 8 :30 o'clock and aroused high enthusiasm and much ap­ plause. The experience of such a recital is one of the 's H BRTQCENBOSCII (Bois-LE-Due) TH.E $ 1:-icwo TowE• ROITERDAM Tlie carillonneur at tlie keyboard of the City Ila/I Carillon SINGING TOvVERS 261 most delightful and inspiring things in the world of music. Mr. Denyn is the supreme Bell Master. Critical listening is impossible. By the time his improvised prelude has died away, one is simply spellbound with the multitude of beautiful sounds, a flock of gorgeous colours, issuing from the tower. Perfunctorily one glances at the programme only to realise that the title of the work hardly matters, so long as the great carillonneur is playing. This is not land song, an old classical dance movement, or to say that the treatment of a particular Nether­ a piece of technical virtuosity, escapes observa­ tion; it is to say, however, that the musicianly playing of Mr. Denyn transports one far beyond all ordinary considerations. He is one with his instrument, a unique genius, and a great per­ sonality.