Post by gavbrown on Feb 23, 2016 6:54:53 GMT
Yesterday I posted about a rare musical instrument I have played, a 1927 silent movie organ which had been dismantled once sound movies started up and then reconstructed in my high school. But that is not the only rare instrument I have played. I have also played another rare instrument, which is perhaps the biggest instrument ever constructed: the carillon. You've probably never heard the word carillon, but you have probably heard the music from one, unless you are very young. A carillon is a musical instrument which is a building. They are typically a large concrete tower, atop of which are gigantic bells. It is an ancient instrument. In medieval times, a carillon was used to notify people of danger, such as an invading army. When I was growing up, there was a carillon in my home town. Its purpose was more placid than medieval carillons: it told the time. It would strike the time on the hour and the half hour, with a small bell song that lasted a few seconds. The sound of the bells could be heard for miles, making it the loudest instrument in history.
The Springfield Illinois Carillon cost $200,000 to build. It has 67 bronze bells and ranges over 5 octaves. The total weight of the bells is over 40 tons, with the biggest single bell being over 7 tons. A friend of mine was the “guest-carillonist,” meaning that when the main carillonist was unable to perform, my friend would substitute at the occasional concert held there. One day, he took me up into the Carillon so I could see how it worked and I was allowed to play it. The play of the instrument was performed by these wooden boards, much like oars, which stuck out from the walls. You would ball up your hands in a fist and play your fist down on the oar, which would cause the bell to sound. As you might expect, the music was very slow. Here’s the Carillon I played, the Thomas Rees Memorial Carrillon in Springfield Illinois.
The Springfield Illinois Carillon cost $200,000 to build. It has 67 bronze bells and ranges over 5 octaves. The total weight of the bells is over 40 tons, with the biggest single bell being over 7 tons. A friend of mine was the “guest-carillonist,” meaning that when the main carillonist was unable to perform, my friend would substitute at the occasional concert held there. One day, he took me up into the Carillon so I could see how it worked and I was allowed to play it. The play of the instrument was performed by these wooden boards, much like oars, which stuck out from the walls. You would ball up your hands in a fist and play your fist down on the oar, which would cause the bell to sound. As you might expect, the music was very slow. Here’s the Carillon I played, the Thomas Rees Memorial Carrillon in Springfield Illinois.