A carillon (accent on the first syllable) is a musical instrument comprised of 23 or more finely tuned bells covering at least two octaves. The bells are rigidly mounted to steel beams and do not move. A carillonneur (accent on the last syllable) plays the carillon from a keyboard which has levers or batons in the sequence of piano keys.
The carillon console is constructed of durable, time-dried oak. The batons are connected to the bell clappers through mechanical linkages. Only the clappers move; the bells are stationary.
The profile for the modern carillon bell appeared in Europe in the 13th century. The "low countries" of northern Europe (Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg) developed rudimentary playing consoles in the 16th century, but scientific tuning techniques only appeared in the late 1890s. The resultant improvement in tuning brought heightened interest in carillons and the first complete instruments arrived in North America in 1922.
Depending on how one defines a carillon, there are now about 600in the world (180 in North America). For a small state, Connecticut is blessed with ten instruments. Five of these are quite large (49 or more bells):
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The First Presbyterian Church in Stamford, Connecticut (56 bells) |
| The Foreman Carillon, Simsbury United Methodist Church, Simsbury, Connecticut (55 bells) |
| The Yale Memorial Carillon, Harkness Tower, New Haven, Connecticut (54 bells) |
| The Stearns Carillon at First Church of Christ, Congregational, West Hartford, Connecticut (50 bells) |
| The Plumb Memorial Carillon of Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut (49 bells) |
The Kirk-In-The-Hills Carillon in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan contains a record 77 bells, the largest of which is called a bourdon and weighs about six tons. The 74-bell instrument at Riverside Church in New York City has a bourdon bell which weighs 20.5 tons.
By comparison, the bourdon bell in the Foreman Carillon weighs 4,730 pounds, is 59.5 inches in diameter, and about 50 inches in length.
More information on carillons:
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