News from abroad
* The future of Ghent's historic bell Klokke Roeland, which was cast in 1660 and cracked in 1914, is uncertain. Roeland is not included in the initial sketches by Spanish architect Jordi Farrando who was commissioned by the city to redesign the area between the belfry and the St. Niklaaskerk where the legendary bell now rests. Under consideration is the possibility of repairing the crack and hanging the bell in a free-standing frame fitted with a manual tolling mechanism.
* A forgotten carillon is situated on the roof of the main entrance to the House of Parliament in Brussels. It was inaugurated in the summer of 1993 with Sonneries voor Albert when Albert II was crowned King. The carillon was immediately put out of commission because it was regarded as an annoyance.
* On the Saturday before Pentecost, the 1.8-ton "Christus" bell in Frankfurt's St. Paul's Church fell five meters and was smashed by the "Citizens" bell which was swinging. Cast in 1848 by Mappers and Barthels, Christus had been designated a registered national monument.
* The new 58-bell Eijsbouts carillon in Amersfoort, The Netherlands, was inaugurated on 18 June 1997. Wim Franken wrote the fifth in his series of Torenmuziek. Entitled Echo, it is scored for two carillonneurs (quatre mains) and 16 trumpets and trombones divided between two galleries.
* In celebration of the 350-year anniversary of the Peace of Munster (1648), Dutch carillonneurs are playing music from the period of the Eighty Years War throughout 1998.
* Klokkenvordering 1942-1943, an 800-page book in two volumes published by the Dutch Rijksdienst voor de Monumentenzorg, documents the plunder of bells by the German Occupation. It is available for f195 plus shipping from RDMZ; Postbus 1001; 3700 BA Zeist; The Netherlands.
* The Royal Eijsbouts Bellfoundry celebrated its 125th anniversary on 30 August 1997.
* The editor of the Dutch carillon guild publication Klok en Klepel (September, 1997) presents several clippings of interest that were originally published during the 17th and 18th centuries in the Amsterdamse Courant and the Haerlemse Courant. While many of the clippings refer to klokkenist (bell player) vacancies, one tells about the earthquake of 1692 in Amsterdam when "the Old Church and South Church towers shook so forcefully that the bells tolled."
* A jury recently selected the winners of the Belgian carillon school's International Composition Competition. In the category of original works for carillon, the third prize was awarded to Geert D'hollander for his Movimenti. First and second prizes were not awarded. In the "arrangements" category, Marina Nevskaya of Moscow took the first prize for her Bells Were Ringing.
Send items for "Carillon News" to Dr. Brian Swager, c/o The Diapason, 380 E. Northwest Hwy., Suite 200, Des Plaines, IL 60016-2282. For information on the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America, write to: GCNA, 37 Noel Dr., Williamsville, NY 14221.
