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Carillon News

February 3, 2004
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Brian Swager is carillon editor of THE DIAPASON.

The 1999 Congress of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America was held at Iowa State University in Ames. University Carillonneur Tin-shi Tam hosted the congress. Ten candidates played successful examination recitals and were awarded “carillonneur” membership status: Elizabeth Berghout of Lawrence, Kansas; Jeremy Chesman; Michael Conrady; Ryan Hebert of Lawrence, Kansas; Julianne Vanden Wyngaard of Grandville, Michigan; Hisako Konno of Ashiya, Japan; Frecky Lewis of St. Louis, Missouri; David Maker of Storrs, Connecticut; Adrien Tien of Australia; and Rändel Wolfe. A special ceremony at the city hall of Douai, France, on 18 December 1998 honored retiring municipal carillonneur and director of the French Carillon School, Jacques Lannoy. Stéfano Colletti was appointed as Lannoy’s successor.

 

James R. Lawson, carillonneur of the Crystal Cathedral, in Garden Grove, California, was feted on the occasion of his 80th birthday, May 25, 1999. Senior Pastor Robert H. Schuller interviewed Lawson during a Sunday morning service. Lawson, seated at the console in the 236-foot Crean Tower, was surrounded by TV cameras and cables that were hoisted up for the event. This enabled taping for an Hour of Power telecast and alllowed the congregation to see via a giant JumboTron TV screen in the cathedral. Lawson has been the carillonneur at the Crystal Cathedral since its dedication in September, 1990. The Arvella Schuller Carillon is one of the few carillons in the world to have bells tuned with a major-third overtone rather than the typical minor third.

 

The organization Eurocarillon in conjunction with Dordrecht carillonneurs Henry Groen and Boudewijn Zwart organized a large festival of carillon activities in The Netherlands from May through September, 1999. The Eurocarillon “Survival Tour” was a bicycle tour of carillons in the Utrecht and South Holland provinces. A series of “Open Tower” concerts featured Eurocarillon performers from other countries in Europe. An exhibition “Dat klinkt als een klok” (That rings a bell) was presented in the Grote Kerk in Dordrecht with the help of Dr. André Lehr, curator of the National Carillon Museum in Asten. Several projects were organized around special themes such as the music of J.S. Bach, Dutch carillon music, carillon duets, CD recordings, and new music for carillon by Joep Straesser.

 

American organist and carillonneur Amy Johansen joined the Carillon Society of Australia and was named an honorary carillonneur at Sydney University. Her first exposure to the carillon came in 1981 when a new instrument was installed at the University of Florida in Gainesville where she was an undergraduate organ student. Amy was appointed official Sydney University organist in November 1998.

Profile: Oldenzaal, The Netherlands

A small industrial town in the eastern Netherlands, Oldenzaal lies just north of Enschede and near the German border. The streets in the town of Oldenzaal are laid out concentrically and lead to the St. Plechelmus Church. The building was begun in the first half of the 12th century as a Romanesque sandstone cross basilica. Through the centuries the church has undergone modifications, fires, restorations, and Gothic additions.

 

A 42-bell carillon was founded for the church in 1930 by the British firm Gillett & Johnston. Toon van Balkom, municipal carillonneur of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, played the dedicatory recital. Miraculously, the instrument escaped the German plunder of bells during the Second World War. Three bass bells (D, E, and F-sharp) were added by the Eijsbouts firm in 1949, and a tolling bell made for the tower in 1493 by Geert van Wou was tuned (to C, ca. 2400 kg.) and incorporated into the carillon as the bourdon. With the addition of two more treble bells (B and C) in 1965, the instrument reached a four-octave range. Five of the bass bells (C, D, E, G, and A) serve double duty as tolling bells. Hylke Banning has been carillonneur of the St. Plechelmus Church since 1992. He plays market recitals, April through September, on Friday evenings at 7:30. A special summer series features guest recitalists during July and August. Other carillons in this area of Holland known as Twente can be found in nearby Hengelo (city hall), Enschede (Grote Kerk), Alemlo (St. Georgiuskerk), and on the campus of the University of Twente.

“Le Nadalet”

Le Nadelet is an old bell tradition that fills the air with sonorous ringing each December. The tradition is common in the south of France, the Langue d’Oc, and involves sounding bells during the days preceding Christmas. The term “Nadalet” is the most common, but others such as “Gaudinas,” “Gaudetas,” and “Aubetas” are used in some areas. In some communities, the Nadalet begins on December 13, but not until the 17th in others. In general it seems that the celebration begins on the later date in cities and on the earlier date in the country. Since the period of Nadalet corresponds exactly to the Grandes Antiennes, the great Advent antiphons which begin on December 17, it appears that the Nadalet is a sonorous reflection of this liturgial tradition. J.P. Carme suggests that the discrepancy between dates could be due to liturgical developments. The Roman liturgy that was introduced in the middle of the 19th century has only seven antiphons in the breviary whereas the old neo-Gallic liturgy of the 18th century has three more. The more traditional rural areas tend to preserve the ancient custom. The clangor of bells is not totally haphazard but is presented in a particular manner. For example, in the city of Castres, the Nadalet sounds each evening from the 17th to the 23rd of December. At 7:00 pm all the bells in the city are tolled in a gradiose sonnerie. After a quarter of an hour the tolling slowly subsides and a single bell continues to swing for a few moments longer. After the carillonneur halts this final bell, he strikes it nine times to symbolize the three times three strokes of the Angelus. Then he begins to play old Christmas carols. The tolling on Christmas Eve takes on a different character and precedes the midnight mass. A final sonnerie is heard on Christmas day at noon. The history of this and other bell traditions of Castres and the south of France is in Jean-Pierre Carme’s book Le livre des cloches de Castres, available for 50 FF plus postage from the author at “Le Moulin du ramier”-Route de Sémalens-F81710 SAIX-France. Phone 33-5-6374-8760.

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