Chimes
Orchestral Bells

Carillons

There is an old Italian saying which translated reads "in Holland the time sings". This refers to the carillon or automatic chimes so characteristic of our country which, as far as the carillon culture is concerned, also includes Belgium and a part of Northern France.

What is a carillon?

Simply put, a carillon is a musical instrument consisting of a series of bells on which melodies can be played, either by a carillonneur or using an automatic chiming mechanism. A carillon is a fully-fledged musical instrument used for concerts of sophisticated music, for instance on beautiful summer evenings, but it can also automatically play familiar tunes like a street organ.

Development.

The carillon came into existence at the end of the middle ages to alert listeners automatically to the imminent striking of the hour. Not long after, the start of the carillon culture was heralded with the addition of a baton-type clavier. Originally consisting of a limited number of bells producing melodious sounds in varying patterns, later in the seventeenth century, at the time of the famous bell-founders François and Pieter Hemony, the number increased to multiple octaves. This eventually resulted in fully-fledged musical instruments.

Different types

As described earlier, carillons can be fitted with a baton-type clavier or with an automatic chiming mechanism. Later, we will return in more detail to the automatic carillon which plays its tune every quarter or half hour.

Town carillonneur

The town carillonneur is a musician who uses his clavier at regular intervals and generally once a week to serenade us from the tower. He has every claim to the title of musician thanks to his conservatory training at the Netherlands Carillon School in Amersfoort, or at the "Jef Denijn" Royal Carillon School in Mechelen, Belgium.

The modern practice keyboard

As long as the carillon has existed, the practice keyboard has existed along with it to enable the carillonneur to prepare. In the past, these practice keyboards were fitted with metal bars that produced a sound bearing little resemblance to that of the bells in the tower. Presently Eijsbouts produces high quality practice keyboards whose sound is electronically produced. This provides the carillonneur with realistic bell sounds and brings the carillon's great dynamic range into the practice studio. The high quality mechanics and the electronics combine to place the carillonneur in an environment closely resembling that of the actual tower. The electronics can simulate any type of carillon, historic or modern. 

Heavy weights

In the past decades, Eijsbouts has supplied many carillons worldwide, both small and large, not only in the number of bells, but also in weight. Take the largest carillon in Europe for instance. The Berlin carillon consists of 68 bells with a collective weight of 47,000 kg, the heaviest being almost 8,000 kg. Or the carillon in Saint Rombold's Tower in Mechelen, Belgium, which consists of 49 bells and weighs a total of 39,000 kg. To these of course must be added the impressive carillons for the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and for the University of Denver, Colorado, both in the USA. Besides these, Eijsbouts supplied the bells for the extension to the "National War Memorial Carillon" at Wellington, New Zealand, including a bell weighing 12,500 kg, the heaviest ever cast in The Netherlands. Add to this the project to extend the carillon of the Great Church at Dordrecht, The Netherlands in 1999. This included the addition of four bass bells of which the largest weighs 10,000 kg. The total number of bells is now 67 with a total weight of 49,483 kg, making it Europe's heaviest.

Own identity

Carillons are tower instruments and already existing towers of churches and town halls are acoustically ideal for housing carillons. However, carillons can also be housed in specially designed steel towers placed in an attractive natural or urban setting. The musical range of the instrument plays an essential role in choice of location. In one location we see a carillon that can be heard throughout the town or village from its lofty spire. In another we see a carillon in a low tower with closed belfry windows and performing to listeners in the near vicinity. We can conclude by asserting that the carillon is a musical instrument with its entirely own identity which requires an individual approach. The carillonneur allows himself to be led by that individuality.