List of carillons

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carillons are found on all six inhabited continents. Clockwise from the top left: The Belfry of Mons, Belgium; the National Carillon in Canberra, Australia; the Netherlands Carillon in Arlington, Virginia, US; the carillon at Vaillantsplein in Paramaribo, Suriname; the City Hall of Cape Town, South Africa; and the International YMCA in Jerusalem, Israel.

Carillons, musical instruments of bells in the percussion family, are found on every inhabited continent. The Netherlands, Belgium, and the United States contain more than two thirds of the world's total, and over 90 percent can be found in either Western Europe (mainly the Low Countries) or North America.

The World Carillon Federation [nl] (WCF) defines a carillon as an instrument of at least 23 cast bronze bells hung in fixed suspension, played with a traditional keyboard of batons, and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniously together. It may designate instruments of 15 to 22 bells built before 1940 as "historical carillons".[1] Its member organizations  including for example The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America,[2] the German Carillon Association,[3] and the Flemish Carillon Association[4]  also define a carillon with those restrictions. Conversely, TowerBells.org  a database of tower bells of all types  defines a "non-traditional" carillon, which is an instrument that has had some component electrified or computerized.[5] These instruments fail to meet the definitions of a carillon defined by the associations of carillonneurs mentioned above. This list contains only those carillons that meet the definition outlined by an association of carillonneurs, such as the WCF and its member organizations.

Africa

Réunion

South Africa

Asia

Israel

Israel has one carillon, located at the Jerusalem International YMCA. It was installed and dedicated along with the rest of the newly constructed building in 1933. Gillett & Johnston cast the original 35 bells, the heaviest of which weighs 1,500 kilograms (3,300 lb). In 2018, Royal Eijsbouts cast a 36th bell, weighing 800 kilograms (1,800 lb), for the instrument. It is one of the only carillons in the Middle East.[8][9]

Japan

Japan has been exposed to carillons through its relations with Belgium. Since the 1980s, Belgium has used a targeted cultural diplomacy program to expose Japanese artists and students to the carillon, and to encourage them to construct instruments in their country. The city and province of Antwerp and the city of Mechelen provided Osaka with a mobile carillon in 1984. Hasselt donated a carillon to Itami, its sister city, in 1990. Members of the Shinji Shumeikai religious movement, inspired by their trip to St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen, purchased a carillon for Shigaraki in 1990. The Japanese School of Brussels and the Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" established educational relations on playing and composing for the carillon.[10]

  • Itami: The Bells of Flanders  43 bells, heaviest 375 kg (827 lb), Royal Eijsbouts 1990[11]
  • Sasebo, Nagasaki: Carillon Symphonica in the 'Huis ten Bosch'  37 bells
  • Shigaraki: 'The Joy of Angels' at Misono, the international headquarters and spiritual centre of the Shinji Shumeikai organisation  50 bells, heaviest unlisted, Royal Eijsbouts 1990[10]

Philippines

The Centennial Carillon Tower of the University of the Philippines Diliman
The Centennial Carillon Tower, located at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

South Korea

Europe

Belgium

An ornate stone brick bell tower
The tower of St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen contains two large, 49-bell carillons

Two Belgian carillon associations  the Flemish Carillon Association and the Walloon Carillon Association  count carillons in their respective regions. According to their registries, there are 94 carillons in Belgium: 70 in the Flemish Region, 22 in the Walloon Region, and 2 in the Brussels Capital Region. They are distributed across 77 different cities; several are located within the same city, and two are even within the same building  at St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen. The population has a wide range in total weights, with bourdons spanning between 30 and 8,180 kilograms (66 and 18,034 lb). They also span a wide range of notes, from 21 (which the Flemish association considers a carillon despite failing its definition that requires at least 23[19]) up to 64. Many carillons were constructed over several centuries by several bellfounders; a minority are constructed entirely by a single bellfounder. The majority of carillons are transposing instruments, and often transpose such that the lowest note on the keyboard is B or C.

According to the World Carillon Federation [nl], the carillons in Belgium account for 14 percent of the world's total[20] and is consequently considered one of the "great carillon countries" along with the Netherlands and the United States.[21]

British Isles

A red brick tower surrounded by trees and topped with a aged copper observation deck
The Loughborough Carillon in Loughborough, England, memorialises fallen soldiers of the First World War

Carillons are found throughout the British Isles as a result of the First World War. During the German occupation of Belgium, many of the country's carillons were silenced or destroyed. This news circulated among the Allied Powers, who saw it as "the brutal annihilation of a unique democratic music instrument".[22][23] The destruction was romanticized in poetry and music, particularly in England. Poets  often exaggerating reality  wrote that the Belgian carillons were in mourning and awaited to ring out on the day of the country's liberation. Edward Elgar composed a work for orchestra which includes motifs of bells and a spoken text anticipating the victory of the Belgian people.[24] He later even composed a work specifically for the carillon.[25] Following the war, countries in the Anglosphere built their own carillons to memorialise the lives lost and to promote world peace,[23] including two in England.[26]

The Carillon Society of Britain and Ireland (CSBI) counts carillons throughout the British Isles.[27] Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers, a publication that historically concerns itself with bell sets outfitted for full circle ringing, also counts carillons in the region.[28] According to the two sources, there are fifteen carillons: eight in England, one in the Republic of Ireland, one in Northern Ireland, and five in Scotland. There are no carillons in Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Jersey or Wales.[27]

The heaviest carillon is at the Kirk of St Nicholas in Aberdeen, Scotland, weighing 25,846 kilograms (56,981 lb); the lightest is at the Atkinsons Building in London, weighing 3,194 kilograms (7,041 lb). The carillon of St Colman's Cathedral in Cobh has the most bells  49. The region has several two- and three-octave carillons. The heaviest two-octave carillon in the world  weighing 22,669 kg (49,976 lb)  is located in Newcastle upon Tyne.[29] The carillons were primarily constructed in the interwar period by the English bellfounders Gillett & Johnston and John Taylor & Co.[27] Almost all of the carillons are transposing instruments, all of which transpose such that the lowest note on the keyboard is C.[27]

According to the World Carillon Federation [nl], the carillons of the British Isles account for two percent of the world's total.[30]

France

Carillonneur Brian Swager plays the carillon at the Cathedral Saint-Jean-Baptiste (John the Baptist) in Perpignan, France.

Germany

Germany's heaviest carillon is in Halle (Saale) with bells weighing more than 45,000 kg (99,000 lb) in total

The German Carillon Association counts carillons throughout Germany, and according to the organization, there are 49 in total.[60] They are distributed across 41 cities; in four of them  Berlin, Bonn, Cologne, and Hamburg  there are more than one. The population has a wide range in total weights, with bourdons spanning from 20 kilograms (44 lb) in Altenburg[61] and Schwerin[62] to 8,056 kilograms (17,760 lb) in Halle (Saale).[63] They also span a wide range of notes, from 23 in Bonn[64] and Lößnitz[65] up to 76 in Halle (Saale).[63] The carillons were all exclusively constructed after 1900 by a mix of bellfounders, many of them German. The majority of carillons are transposing instruments, and often transpose such that the lowest note on the keyboard is B or C. There are also two mobile carillons, which were constructed and are owned by two German bellfounders: Perner [de] and Sandkuhl.[60]

According to the World Carillon Federation [nl], the carillons of Germany account for seven percent of the world's total.[66]

Netherlands

Hilversum town hall
Martinikerk in Groningen
Zuiderkerk in Enkhuizen

Nordic countries

According to the Nordic Society for Campanology and Carillons, there are 56 carillons in the Nordic countries: 29 in Denmark,[85] 1 in Finland,[86] 12 in Norway,[87] and 14 in Sweden.[88]

Denmark

Finland

Norway

Sweden

Other regions

Austria

Heiligenkreuz Abbey, which claims to be the only Cistercian institution that owns a carillon, acknowledges that the tradition of playing carillons is not popular in Austria.[96]

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Czech Republic

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Poland

Annual concerts since 1999 during the Gdańsk Carillon Festival. See also Traveling carillons below.

Portugal

Russia

Serbia

Spain

Carillon at Palau de la Generalitat, in Barcelona

Switzerland

Ukraine

Anthem of Ukraine. Carillon of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery. Kyiv, Ukraine

North America

Bermuda

Canada

Soldiers' Tower, University of Toronto

Cuba

Curaçao

El Salvador

Honduras

Mexico

Nicaragua

United States

Century Tower. Gainesville, Florida

Selections of notable carillons in the United States:

Oceania

An ornately decorated red brick tower
The carillon at the University of Sydney Quadrangle memorialises fallen soldiers of the First World War

Carillons are found in Australia and New Zealand as a result of the First World War. During the German occupation of Belgium, many of the country's carillons were silenced or destroyed. This news circulated among the Allied Powers, who saw it as "the brutal annihilation of a unique democratic music instrument".[165][166] The destruction was romanticized in poetry and music, particularly in England. Poets  often exaggerating reality  wrote that the Belgian carillons were in mourning and awaited to ring out on the day of the country's liberation. Edward Elgar composed a work for orchestra which includes motifs of bells and a spoken text anticipating the victory of the Belgian people.[167] He later even composed a work specifically for the carillon.[168] Following the war, countries in the Anglosphere built their own carillons to memorialise the lives lost and to promote world peace,[166] including two in Australia and one in New Zealand.[169][170]

The World Carillon Federation [nl] and the Carillon Society of Australia counts carillons throughout Australia and New Zealand. According to the two sources, there are four carillons: three in Australia and one in New Zealand.[171][172] The largest and heaviest carillon is the National War Memorial Carillon in Wellington, New Zealand, weighing 70,620 kilograms (155,690 lb).[173] The carillons were primarily constructed in the interwar period by the English bellfounders John Taylor & Co, Gillett & Johnston, and Whitechapel. Almost all of the carillons are transposing instruments.[171][172]

According to the World Carillon Federation, the carillons in Australia and New Zealand account for less than one per cent of the world's total.[171]

South America

Brazil

Suriname

The Vaillantsplein Square Carillon [nl], Paramaribo, Suriname

Uruguay

Venezuela

Traveling carillons

Traveling or mobile carillons are those which are not housed in a tower. Instead, the bells and keyboard are installed on a frame that allow it to be transported. These carillons are often constructed by bellfounders for advertising purposes, though several exist solely to perform across the world. According to a count by the World Carillon Federation, there are 18 existing mobile carillons headquartered in 11 countries.[180]

  • Barcelona, Spain: "Bronzen Piano 'Reverté van Assche'"  50 bells, 1,951 kg (4,301 lb) total weight, cast by Eijsbouts, completed in 2013, owned by Anna Maria Reverté & Koen van Assche[181]
  • Béthune, France: "Carillon Christophe"  48 bells, unknown total weight, cast by Petit & Fritsen, constructed in 1938 (expanded in 1998), owned by Association Polyphonia
  • Constância, Portugal: "Lvsitanvs Carillon"  63 bells, 6,857 kg (15,117 lb) total weight, cast by Royal Eijsbouts owned by the International Center for the Carillon and the Organ
  • Dordrecht, Netherlands: "Bell Moods"  50 bells, c.2,000 kg (4,400 lb) total weight, cast by Petit & Fritsen, completed in 2003, owned by Boudewijn Zwart
  • Douai, France: "The Walking Carillon of Douai"  53 bells, 4,045 kg (8,918 lb) total weight, cast by Petit & Fritsen, compleded in 2004, owned by the City of Douai
  • Gdańsk, Poland: "Gdańsk"  48 bells, 4,800 kg (10,600 lb) total weight, cast by Royal Eijsbouts, completed in 2009, fixed on a trailer pulled by MAN 11.168 firetruck[104]
  • Løgumkloster, Denmark: "The Transportable Chime"  50 bells, c.3,400 kg (7,500 lb) total weight (including the instrument's truck), cast by Petit & Fritsen, owned by the Løgumkloster Church Music School. Includes an additional 54 kg (119 lb) swinging bell
  • Maastricht, Netherlands: "Traveling Carillon Frank Steijns"  43 bells, 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) total weight, cast by Petit & Fritsen, completed in 2006 (replaced in 2011), owned by Frank Steijns
  • Mechelen, Belgium: 30 bells, unknown total weight, cast by unknown bellfounder, owned by Our Lady of Hanswijk
  • Mons, Belgium: "Carillon Queen Fabiola"  49 bells, c.2,800 kg (6,200 lb) total weight, cast by unknown bellfounder, owned by Catiau Montois and Carillons Association
  • Nagasaki, Japan: 50 bells, unknown total weight, cast by unknown bellfounder
  • Neerpelt, Belgium: The carillon of carillonneur Jan Verheyen from "Bells Lab"
  • Osaka, Japan: 37 bells, unknown total weight, cast by unknown bellfounder
  • Passau, Germany: "The Mobile Perner-Carillon"  49 bells, 2,197 kg (4,844 lb) total weight, completed in 2009, cast and owned by Rudolf Perner GmbH & Co.
  • Pottstown, Pennsylvania, US
    • "CariBelle"  35 bells, 1,814 kg (3,999 lb) total weight, cast by Petit & Fritsen, completed in 1980, owned by Frank DellaPenna, originally called "America's Only Traveling Carillon," part of the "Cast in Bronze" band group[182]
    • "DellaPenna Traveling Carillon"  35 bells, 1,754 kg (3,867 lb) total weight, cast by Petit & Fritsen (originals) and Eijsbouts (enlargement), completed in 1951 (enlarged in 2010), owned by Frank DellaPenns, part of "Cast in Bronze" band group[182]
  • Prague, Czech Republic: "The Traveling Carillon of Prague"  57 bells, 4,950 kg (10,910 lb) total weight, cast by Royal Eijsbouts, completed in 2001[102]
  • Ripalta Cremasca, Italy: "Fonderia Allanconi Carillon"  25 bells[183]
  • Rostock, Germany: "Concert Carillon Olaf Sandkuhl"  37 bells, unknown total weight, cast by Petit & Fritsen, owned by Olaf Sandkuhl

See also

Notes

References

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