Carillon are the largest of all instruments - a building containing bells played by a keyboard.
The plan for the Dartington Carillon is to have 77 bells created by leading contemporary artists.
Newly developed acoustics software and electronics will make the Dartington carillon the most advanced in the world.
We aim to include a permanent foundry, an art gallery and performance amphitheatre.
The Carillon will be a community build project located on the Dartington Hall Estate one of the UK's leading cultural centres.
Core elements of the carillon project will be:
The magic of bell casting – bringing together metal and fire to make music.
New technology – casting bells to 50 micron accuracy.
New software allowing radically new bell shapes
A new generation of bells capable of producing a melody of notes from one strike.
Bell sculptures – major international artists will be invited to create innovative bell designs
Poetry – the bells will be inscribed with specially commissioned poetry.
A new and flexible instrument – a fluid carillon with movable polytonal bells and strikers presents composers, musicians and performers with huge creative opportunities.
Architecture – the brief is for a sustainable building that works as a musical instrument and that can be built by the community.
Performance – potential for dramatic combination of musical and visual performance.
National and international artistic and scientific educational resource – carillon and interactive visitor centre will be a major new resource for students of all ages from the local community and further afield.
Community involvement – the construction work will be carried out by local people (not major contractors), the work will offer training opportunities in a number of trades. The foundry will offer long term training and job opportunities.
Bells speak to communities – of God and war, victories, defeats, births, deaths, and marking out the days.
Bells call people together - physically, emotionally, temporally, spiritually.
The Dartington Carillon unites the very new and very old – the latest design and technology combining with the old cultural pull of bells.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Community participation
Carillon project founder Angus Noble has designed many world class racing yachts. Angus was one of the designers on the Team Phillips project which built the world's largest racing catamaran in Totnes near Dartington.
Angus recalls that one of the most significant features of the Team Phillips project was the strength of community involvement - with huge numbers of local people coming to the project's visitor centre every week.
To help meet tight deadlines relatively unskilled local people were recruited to help build the yacht - many of whom have gone on to successful careers in boat building.
For Angus, providing inspiration, work and training for local people were the most important and long-lasting benefits of the whole Team Phillips enterprise.
Drawing on this experience, we want the Dartington carillon to be a community built project. Large contractors will not be involved - local people will construct the carillon, workshop, visitor centre and foundry. The foundry will offer training and permanent employment opportunities.
Local people will be invited to join in the planning and development of the project from a very early stage.
Angus recalls that one of the most significant features of the Team Phillips project was the strength of community involvement - with huge numbers of local people coming to the project's visitor centre every week.
To help meet tight deadlines relatively unskilled local people were recruited to help build the yacht - many of whom have gone on to successful careers in boat building.
For Angus, providing inspiration, work and training for local people were the most important and long-lasting benefits of the whole Team Phillips enterprise.
Drawing on this experience, we want the Dartington carillon to be a community built project. Large contractors will not be involved - local people will construct the carillon, workshop, visitor centre and foundry. The foundry will offer training and permanent employment opportunities.
Local people will be invited to join in the planning and development of the project from a very early stage.
Your comments and suggestions
This is a community project and we shall be working hard through the rest of the year to give people in Totnes, Dartington and the South Hams a chance to give us their thoughts on the carillon.
This blog is a resource you can use now - so please write a comment and share your thoughts with us and the rest of the community.
This blog is a resource you can use now - so please write a comment and share your thoughts with us and the rest of the community.
About Us
Angus Noble has been designer engineer for over 20 years and has contributed to the design of many world-class racing yachts as well as designing an Oscar-winning movie camera housing, racing bicycles and other high performance tools. Angus is also a luthier and has built violins and cellos for a number of professional musicians.
Angus designed the mast for the Pete Goss Team Phillips catamaran that was built in Totnes. Building the yacht became a huge community project with 5000 visitors a week coming to visitor centre and many local micro sponsors. To help get the boat built on time Angus recruited local people who learnt new skills and have gone onto to successful careers in boatbuilding.
For Angus the strength of the community involvement and providing work and training were the most significant aspects of the project – far outweighing the untimely loss of the boat itself. His vision for the carillon is that it will foster a similar level of local enthusiasm and opportunity for training.www.angusnoble.com
Nick Comer-Calder has a background in media having worked at the BBC’s education department and eventually becoming SVP of Discovery Networks Europe. Over the last 3 years Nick has been created a range of high-performance carbon fibre cases for guitars, violins and laptops www.calderoriginals.com. Angus Noble led much of the technical development of the cases.
Nick’s comittment to the carillon stems from his enthusiasm for learning, his pursuit of innovation and desire to communicate new ideas.
Marcus Vergette is a sculptor, film-maker, composer and working musician playing double bass. For the past 3 years Marcus has been working on a bell which will be rung by the movement of the tide - the Time and Tide Bell. For this piece he has developed a unique new bell form which sounds a melody of different notes from one strike. The project is to mount a bell at the high tide mark at diverse sites around the country. The movement of the water at high tide will move the clapper to strike the bell, creating a constantly shifting pattern. The strike of the bell will make a mark in time, connecting that spot, that moment, to the movement of the moon, and the sea.
www.marcusvergette.co.uk
Angus designed the mast for the Pete Goss Team Phillips catamaran that was built in Totnes. Building the yacht became a huge community project with 5000 visitors a week coming to visitor centre and many local micro sponsors. To help get the boat built on time Angus recruited local people who learnt new skills and have gone onto to successful careers in boatbuilding.
For Angus the strength of the community involvement and providing work and training were the most significant aspects of the project – far outweighing the untimely loss of the boat itself. His vision for the carillon is that it will foster a similar level of local enthusiasm and opportunity for training.www.angusnoble.com
Nick Comer-Calder has a background in media having worked at the BBC’s education department and eventually becoming SVP of Discovery Networks Europe. Over the last 3 years Nick has been created a range of high-performance carbon fibre cases for guitars, violins and laptops www.calderoriginals.com. Angus Noble led much of the technical development of the cases.
Nick’s comittment to the carillon stems from his enthusiasm for learning, his pursuit of innovation and desire to communicate new ideas.
Marcus Vergette is a sculptor, film-maker, composer and working musician playing double bass. For the past 3 years Marcus has been working on a bell which will be rung by the movement of the tide - the Time and Tide Bell. For this piece he has developed a unique new bell form which sounds a melody of different notes from one strike. The project is to mount a bell at the high tide mark at diverse sites around the country. The movement of the water at high tide will move the clapper to strike the bell, creating a constantly shifting pattern. The strike of the bell will make a mark in time, connecting that spot, that moment, to the movement of the moon, and the sea.
www.marcusvergette.co.uk
Contact us
We should be glad to hear from you, if you want to know more about the carillon or make suggestions about the development of the project please contact:
Nick Comer-Calder
Dartington Carillon CIC
Hockmoor House
Buckfast
Devon
UK
TQ11 0HN
nick(at)dartingtoncarillon.org
+44 (0)7779 320823
Nick Comer-Calder
Dartington Carillon CIC
Hockmoor House
Buckfast
Devon
UK
TQ11 0HN
nick(at)dartingtoncarillon.org
+44 (0)7779 320823
Advisory group
The advisory group consists of people with the expertise that we will need to help us with the development of the many aspects of the project.
To date the group includes:
Andrew Motion, Britain's Poet Laureate. We invited Andrew to join as we want to have poetry inscribed on the bells. We hope that Andrew will write some of the poetry as well as helping us contact other poets. Andrew has this to say about the project:
The Dartington carillon is potentially a very interesting and beautiful thing, bringing together various artists and crafts-people in a way which celebrates a place as well as creativity itself.
Brian Eno, composer, musician, producer. Brian has composed bell music for the 10,000 year clock built for The Long Now Foundation. Brian wrote this about our project:
I have a long standing interest in bells and so the Dartington carillon project intrigues me. The project will give musicians, composers and students opportunities to explore the full musical potential of bells - it also brings together music, art, architecture and technology which will create a fascinating and valuable creative resource.
Tim Smit co-founder and CEO of the Eden Project in Cornwall. The Eden Project has been an inspiration to us and we were very glad that Tim agreed to offer us his support in shaping up the business proposition for the carillon.
Dr Neil McLachlan, Associate Professor Acoustic and Auditory Modeling, University of Melbourne. Neil is one of the key people behind the development of the polytonal and harmonic Federation Bells carillon in Australia. Neil has worked closely with Devon sculptor Marcus Vergette on his innovative Time and Tide Bells and is enthusiastic about the potential of the Dartington carillon.
Andrew Lacey, founder and director of the Alchemy Foundry, Totnes. Andrew has 25 years experience of fine art casting and already has a small foundry on the Dartington Estate
Anne Ward artist and district councillor for South Hams. Anne is a passionate supporter of the arts so she was our first point of contact with the local community. Anne has been invaluable in helping us with our plans to involve the community in the development of the project.
To date the group includes:
Andrew Motion, Britain's Poet Laureate. We invited Andrew to join as we want to have poetry inscribed on the bells. We hope that Andrew will write some of the poetry as well as helping us contact other poets. Andrew has this to say about the project:
The Dartington carillon is potentially a very interesting and beautiful thing, bringing together various artists and crafts-people in a way which celebrates a place as well as creativity itself.
Brian Eno, composer, musician, producer. Brian has composed bell music for the 10,000 year clock built for The Long Now Foundation. Brian wrote this about our project:
I have a long standing interest in bells and so the Dartington carillon project intrigues me. The project will give musicians, composers and students opportunities to explore the full musical potential of bells - it also brings together music, art, architecture and technology which will create a fascinating and valuable creative resource.
Tim Smit co-founder and CEO of the Eden Project in Cornwall. The Eden Project has been an inspiration to us and we were very glad that Tim agreed to offer us his support in shaping up the business proposition for the carillon.
Dr Neil McLachlan, Associate Professor Acoustic and Auditory Modeling, University of Melbourne. Neil is one of the key people behind the development of the polytonal and harmonic Federation Bells carillon in Australia. Neil has worked closely with Devon sculptor Marcus Vergette on his innovative Time and Tide Bells and is enthusiastic about the potential of the Dartington carillon.
Andrew Lacey, founder and director of the Alchemy Foundry, Totnes. Andrew has 25 years experience of fine art casting and already has a small foundry on the Dartington Estate
Anne Ward artist and district councillor for South Hams. Anne is a passionate supporter of the arts so she was our first point of contact with the local community. Anne has been invaluable in helping us with our plans to involve the community in the development of the project.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Carillon music: from Bach to rock
Traditionally carillon were associated with church and secular classical music. In recent years composers and musicians have started to make use of the instrument in a very much wider range of music.
Here's a video of a Bach carillon solo.
The website of VBV the Flemish Carillon Guild is a mine of information on carillon and has a large collection of sound files. Here are samples of carillon playing with violin, rock and electronic music.
Violin and carillon Meditation on Thais by Massenet:Kirsten Raeymaekers (violin) and Koen Van Assche (mobile concert carillon. This piece demonstrates the subtlety of carillon.
Carillon in modern electronic music Vorst aan de grond by René Uijlenhoet. The massive sound of the big bells is used to create a wall of sound.
Carillon in rock Bells rock with Flemish band "Produit Gratuit".
This video of Luc Rombouts playing Gershwin's Summertime shows clearly how a traditional carillon is played. The bells of Dartington carillon will be controlled by electronics rather than wires and it will have something very similar to a standard piano keyboard.
Here's a video of a Bach carillon solo.
The website of VBV the Flemish Carillon Guild is a mine of information on carillon and has a large collection of sound files. Here are samples of carillon playing with violin, rock and electronic music.
Violin and carillon Meditation on Thais by Massenet:Kirsten Raeymaekers (violin) and Koen Van Assche (mobile concert carillon. This piece demonstrates the subtlety of carillon.
Carillon in modern electronic music Vorst aan de grond by René Uijlenhoet. The massive sound of the big bells is used to create a wall of sound.
Carillon in rock Bells rock with Flemish band "Produit Gratuit".
This video of Luc Rombouts playing Gershwin's Summertime shows clearly how a traditional carillon is played. The bells of Dartington carillon will be controlled by electronics rather than wires and it will have something very similar to a standard piano keyboard.
Carillon: mechanics of playing
Traditional carillon use simple mechanics, when the baton (key) is struck wires pull a clapper against the fixed bell.
The carillon console (aka baton keyboard), is similar to a piano in layout - white= diatonic, black=chromatic. Foot pedals control the heavier bass bells.
Keys move around 4-5 cm downwards. The force with which the key is depressed determines the volume of the sound. The timbre varies with the speed and attack of the playing - short sharp attacks produce more overtones in the bell.
Generally the hands play melodies and the pedal keyboard play the bass line, though melodies can be played on the pedals.
Generally each key is struck only once and the resonance of the bell becomes part of the total sound. Sometimes the carillonneur uses a tremolo technique in which two or more notes are repeated quickly for a short while in order to lengthen the sustain.
When playing the carillon, the carillonneur accentuates certain notes, for example, on the downbeat of a measure. In this case a dynamic accent is given by striking the keys harder.
The carillon console (aka baton keyboard), is similar to a piano in layout - white= diatonic, black=chromatic. Foot pedals control the heavier bass bells.
Keys move around 4-5 cm downwards. The force with which the key is depressed determines the volume of the sound. The timbre varies with the speed and attack of the playing - short sharp attacks produce more overtones in the bell.
Generally the hands play melodies and the pedal keyboard play the bass line, though melodies can be played on the pedals.
Generally each key is struck only once and the resonance of the bell becomes part of the total sound. Sometimes the carillonneur uses a tremolo technique in which two or more notes are repeated quickly for a short while in order to lengthen the sustain.
When playing the carillon, the carillonneur accentuates certain notes, for example, on the downbeat of a measure. In this case a dynamic accent is given by striking the keys harder.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Modern carillon
These are two examples of modern carillon; the minimalist Berlin carillon and the Naperville carillon in Illinois. The Naperville carillon is taller than than the Statue of Liberty and has an open internal staircase which gives visitors access to the 72 bells. The largest bell 'Big Joe' weighs over 20 tons.
The Naperville carillon bells can be played loud or soft depending on whether they are struck by the clapper inside the bell or by the hammer on the outside.
The Naperville carillon bells can be played loud or soft depending on whether they are struck by the clapper inside the bell or by the hammer on the outside.
Text on bells
Some of the bells in the Dartington carillon will have lines of poetry cast onto them.
Text on bells can be used to dramatic effect as can be seen from these Chinese bells.
These ancient Chinese horned bells are another demonstration of the sculptural potential of bells.
Text on bells can be used to dramatic effect as can be seen from these Chinese bells.
These ancient Chinese horned bells are another demonstration of the sculptural potential of bells.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Russian bell ringing
In the Russian tradition bells are rung by tolling ie moving only the clapper not by swinging the entire bell. A complex system of ropes is gathered at one point, where the bell-ringer (zvonar) stands.
There is no melody in Russian bell music instead there is a polyrhythmical sequence of sounds using the the interaction of the timbres of the different bells.
Russian bells (unlike Western European ones) are not tuned to a single note. Western bells usually have an octave between the loudest upper tone ("ring") and the loudest lower tone ("hum"). Russian bells have a seventh between these sounds. Generally, a good Russian bell is tuned to produce a whole scale of sounds (up to several tens of them).
Here's a video which demonstrates the power and drama of Russian bell ringing - the player is Victorpodsnezhnik.
The piece is long but worth staying with - and there's a great sustain at the end.
There is no melody in Russian bell music instead there is a polyrhythmical sequence of sounds using the the interaction of the timbres of the different bells.
Russian bells (unlike Western European ones) are not tuned to a single note. Western bells usually have an octave between the loudest upper tone ("ring") and the loudest lower tone ("hum"). Russian bells have a seventh between these sounds. Generally, a good Russian bell is tuned to produce a whole scale of sounds (up to several tens of them).
Here's a video which demonstrates the power and drama of Russian bell ringing - the player is Victorpodsnezhnik.
The piece is long but worth staying with - and there's a great sustain at the end.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Great bells
The Dartington carillon's largest bell will stand over 4m high and weigh around 20 tons. Large bells are objects of great power and beauty - here are some of the world's greatest.
The Yongle bell in China, 600 years old, 45 tons, 227,000 Chinese characters describing Buddhist sutras cover the interior and exterior.
The Mingun bell in Burma cast by King Bodawpaya in 1808 and is about 13 feet tall. It weighs 90.55 metric tons.
A 1920's photograph of the Great bell at ChionIn temple Kyoto. The 74- ton bell, cast in 1633, is the heaviest bell in Japan. It requires as many as 17 monks to operate this huge bell.
The world's largest bell is the Tsar Bell III (Tsar-Kolokol) in Moscow. Cast by over 200 craftsmen, 6.14 meters high and 6.6 meters in diameter, it was to be the biggest and clearest sounding bell in the world. It was cast in 1733-35, and weighs about 180 tons. Cooled too rapidly (ironically to save it from a great fire) the bell cracked.
In Europe and the US only one shape of bell is commonplace - but elsewhere foundries have developed a wide range of bell shapes.
Some ancient cultures were enormously skilled in bell casting, though in many instances the secrets of their casting techniques have been lost.
The 2400 year old horned Bells of Wuhan in China are among the most unusual and sophisticated - each bell being able to produce two perfect notes. The technology available now will enable us to cast similar bells for the Dartington carillon - with complex shapes and subtle acoustics.
The Yongle bell in China, 600 years old, 45 tons, 227,000 Chinese characters describing Buddhist sutras cover the interior and exterior.
The Mingun bell in Burma cast by King Bodawpaya in 1808 and is about 13 feet tall. It weighs 90.55 metric tons.
A 1920's photograph of the Great bell at ChionIn temple Kyoto. The 74- ton bell, cast in 1633, is the heaviest bell in Japan. It requires as many as 17 monks to operate this huge bell.
The world's largest bell is the Tsar Bell III (Tsar-Kolokol) in Moscow. Cast by over 200 craftsmen, 6.14 meters high and 6.6 meters in diameter, it was to be the biggest and clearest sounding bell in the world. It was cast in 1733-35, and weighs about 180 tons. Cooled too rapidly (ironically to save it from a great fire) the bell cracked.
In Europe and the US only one shape of bell is commonplace - but elsewhere foundries have developed a wide range of bell shapes.
Some ancient cultures were enormously skilled in bell casting, though in many instances the secrets of their casting techniques have been lost.
The 2400 year old horned Bells of Wuhan in China are among the most unusual and sophisticated - each bell being able to produce two perfect notes. The technology available now will enable us to cast similar bells for the Dartington carillon - with complex shapes and subtle acoustics.
Bells in poetry
Many poets have drawn on the power of bells, here are excerpts from a few poems.
W B Yeats
From The Rose of Battle
You, too, have come where the dim tides are hurled
Upon the wharves of sorrow, and heard ring
The bell that calls us on; the sweet far thing.
George Herbert
Prayer
Prayer, the Church's banquet, Angels' age,
God's breath in man returning to his birth,
The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,
The Christian plummet sounding heav'n and earth;
Engine against th' Almighty, sinner's tower,
Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear,
The six-days'-world transposing in an hour,
A kind of tune, which all things hear and fear;
Softness, and peace, and joy, and love, and bliss,
Exalted manna, gladness of the best,
Heaven in ordinary, man well dressed,
The milky way, the bird of Paradise,
Church bells beyond the stars heard, the soul's blood,
The land of spices, something understood.
A E Housman
From Bredon Hill
But when the snows at Christmas
On Bredon top were strewn,
My love rose up so early
And stole out unbeknown
And went to church alone.
They tolled the one bell only,
Groom there was none to see,
The mourners followed after,
And so to church went she,
And would not wait for me.
The bells they sound on Bredon,
And still the steeples hum.
'Come all to church, good people,' -
Oh, noisy bells, be dumb;
I hear you, I will come.
IX
When the bells justle in the tower
The hollow night amid,
Then on my tongue the taste is sour
Of all I ever did.
John Donne
No man is an island, entire of itself; every
man is a piece of the continent, a part of the
main. If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory
were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or
of thine own were: any man's death diminishes
me, because I am involved in mankind, and
therefore never send to know for whom the bells
tolls; it tolls for thee.
W B Yeats
From The Rose of Battle
You, too, have come where the dim tides are hurled
Upon the wharves of sorrow, and heard ring
The bell that calls us on; the sweet far thing.
George Herbert
Prayer
Prayer, the Church's banquet, Angels' age,
God's breath in man returning to his birth,
The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,
The Christian plummet sounding heav'n and earth;
Engine against th' Almighty, sinner's tower,
Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear,
The six-days'-world transposing in an hour,
A kind of tune, which all things hear and fear;
Softness, and peace, and joy, and love, and bliss,
Exalted manna, gladness of the best,
Heaven in ordinary, man well dressed,
The milky way, the bird of Paradise,
Church bells beyond the stars heard, the soul's blood,
The land of spices, something understood.
A E Housman
From Bredon Hill
But when the snows at Christmas
On Bredon top were strewn,
My love rose up so early
And stole out unbeknown
And went to church alone.
They tolled the one bell only,
Groom there was none to see,
The mourners followed after,
And so to church went she,
And would not wait for me.
The bells they sound on Bredon,
And still the steeples hum.
'Come all to church, good people,' -
Oh, noisy bells, be dumb;
I hear you, I will come.
IX
When the bells justle in the tower
The hollow night amid,
Then on my tongue the taste is sour
Of all I ever did.
John Donne
No man is an island, entire of itself; every
man is a piece of the continent, a part of the
main. If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory
were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or
of thine own were: any man's death diminishes
me, because I am involved in mankind, and
therefore never send to know for whom the bells
tolls; it tolls for thee.
Advanced bell design
The intention is for the Dartington carillon to be the largest in the world.
It will consisting of 77 bells, with the Bourdon, the largest bell, weighing over 20 tons and standing 4 meters high. Total weight of all the bells will be over 100 tons.
Unlike traditional carillon bells which are hung in a bell tower out of reach each Dartington bell will be a work of art
Each bell has to deliver the correct musical note to work as a musical instrument. For past several hundred years European bell foundries have stuck with the traditional bell shapes as this was the only way they could ensure the bell produced the correct note.
Today, computer modeling developed by Australian Bell using finite element analysis allows artists to create new shapes for bells. It is now possible to create bells that produce more than one note from one strike.
New casting methods allow foundries to cast bells with accuracy up to 50microns.
Here is Marcus Vergette's Time and Tide Bell which was designed and cast using the latest software and patternless casting technology.
It will consisting of 77 bells, with the Bourdon, the largest bell, weighing over 20 tons and standing 4 meters high. Total weight of all the bells will be over 100 tons.
Unlike traditional carillon bells which are hung in a bell tower out of reach each Dartington bell will be a work of art
Each bell has to deliver the correct musical note to work as a musical instrument. For past several hundred years European bell foundries have stuck with the traditional bell shapes as this was the only way they could ensure the bell produced the correct note.
Today, computer modeling developed by Australian Bell using finite element analysis allows artists to create new shapes for bells. It is now possible to create bells that produce more than one note from one strike.
New casting methods allow foundries to cast bells with accuracy up to 50microns.
Here is Marcus Vergette's Time and Tide Bell which was designed and cast using the latest software and patternless casting technology.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Carillon architecture
Most carillons are built with primary intention that the sound of the bells will carry over a long distance. These are carillon from Australia, the USA and Europe.
Our approach for the Dartington carillon has been very different - we want to create a building that is a superb instrument as well as a showcase for bells that are significant works of art
For this reason we have created a carillon where the bells themselves are the major visual feature. Visitors will be able to walk around the bells and play them with leather mallets.
Visitors will have access to the permanent on-site foundry where the bells for the carillon will be cast.
The carillon building has an integral amphitheatre and art gallery.
The drawings below give some idea of what the Dartington carillon will look like.
Our approach for the Dartington carillon has been very different - we want to create a building that is a superb instrument as well as a showcase for bells that are significant works of art
For this reason we have created a carillon where the bells themselves are the major visual feature. Visitors will be able to walk around the bells and play them with leather mallets.
Visitors will have access to the permanent on-site foundry where the bells for the carillon will be cast.
The carillon building has an integral amphitheatre and art gallery.
The drawings below give some idea of what the Dartington carillon will look like.
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