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.
2 comments:
I am interested in learning more about the following in connection with this project:-
1. Proposed location
2. Attitude of the Local Planning Authority
3. Sources of funding, both for initial capital cost and recurrent running costs.
4. Source of skilled personnel
Thanks for your interest in the project and for your questions.
Here are our answers:
1. Planning - we plan to locate the carillon on the Dartington Hall Estate. The Estate are enthusiastic about the project and have suggested a couple of sites which would be suitable. The final location will depend upon the outcome of more detailed planning and of course will be subject to local planning regulations.
2. We have not yet made a formal approach to the Local Planning Authority as our plans are still subject to extensive discussion with the local community. Over the next few months we will be taking every opportunity to discuss the project with local people, local schools and colleges and community representatives. This consultation will enable us to fine tune the project to ensure we are addressing local needs and have a firm foundation of local support.
The next stage will be to approach funders for seed funding and at the same time begin a discussion with the planning department.
3. Funding - for capital costs we plan to approach a range of funders including The Arts Council, The Lottery Fund, Local Authorities, Charitable Foundations and individual sponsors.
From the outset we envisaged the carillon, visitor centre, art gallery and foundry as forming a self sustaining enterprise and not requiring ongoing support from funders. A major part of our development process is to create a robust business plan which demonstrates that our vision is achievable.
4. Skilled personnel - we believe we can source most of the people we need from the South West of England. The foundry will demand a core group of skilled people who may have to recruit from further afield. We are taking advice on developing the foundry from a number of sources including Andrew Lacey who is the founder of the Alchemy Foundry which is already based on the Dartington Estate.
I hope these replies are helpful. Please let us know if you would like more information.
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