MUSIC OF THE BELLS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21165, 23 April 1932, Page 8

MUSIC OF THE BELLS.

[WELLINGTON CARILLON. HOW INSTFiUMENT IS PLAYED. RANGE OF SUITABLE TUNES. The opening and dedication of the Wellington War Memorial' Carillon on Monday draws pulilic attention to a, unique musical instrument, about which even musical people know surprisingly little. Although English people are world-famed for their love of bells, English churches invariably ring their bells in changes, peals or chimes, either by a hand-rope or automatically by means of. a chime-barrel, end it. was left for the Continent of Europe to develop the more musical form of carillon playing, in which the musician sits at a keyboard and plays any melodies ho chooses. One thing which is not widely known is that the oells in a carillon are muck smaller than those required for chimes or peals anc. a much smaller volume of 6ound is produced. The largest bell in the world, for instance, hangs in the Grand Square of the Kremlin, Moscow, and weighs 230 tons, but the largest bell in the carillon at Bourneville, England, ■weighs only two tons and those most frequently in use weigh from lib. to 251b. Playing small bells by hand, however, gives much greater scope for expression and the tone is always under control. School for Tuition. 'Among the interesting facts related in & booklet recently issued concerning the Bourneville carillon, which was the gift of, the famous Cadbury family, is the existence of a school for carillon playing, the only school of its kind in the world, at Malines, Belgium, it is supported by the State and the city of Malines, for Belgium is the birthplace of the carillon and the Belgian people are justly proud of their land of bells. The player of a carillon sits at a clavier, much like a musician sitting at nn organ, in front of a keyboard and a set of pedals. The pedals are used when force is required to bring out the tone of the bells and the keys are struck with the closed hand, the little finger being protected by a leather covering to prevent injury when playing. Considerable strength and endurance is required of the player, because the leverage of each key bas to move the weight of the clapper inside the bell and in the case of the large bells this requires more than the mere pressure of a finger. Wide Scope for Music. As the public might be subjected to Rome annoyance if the player made a habit of practising on the carillon, a practice clavier is provided, giving an exact replica of the keyboard, the keys of which strike a set of steel bars tuned precisely to the notes of the bells. Very little music for the carfllon has been printed, owing to the small number of these instruments in the world, but the technical facilities afforded by modern carillons offer wide scope for a great range of music, such as the preludes of Bach, preludes and fugues of Van den Gheyn, many soratas, songs such as Schubert's "Av9 Maria," "Will- Ye No Come Back Again?" "The Harp That Once," "Jenny Jones," Benoit's "Mijn Moedersprank," "Ring Out, Wild Bells," and sacred tunes such as "New Every Morning is the Lovo," "Come, Sing With Holy Gladness,'' and "The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, is Ended." It is gratifying to note that England is now manufacturing the finest bells in the world. This is largely due to the pioneering work of the Taylor Foundry at Loughborough, from which bells are supplied to both ,Europe and America.