Documentary History of American Carillons

| Chronological List of Carillons in the United States | History of American Bell Foundries | Import Tariffs on Bells and Carillons | The Tones of Bells |

Carillons have existed in the Low Countries since the sixteenth century but only became popular in the United States in the 1920s.  The first modern carillon in this country was installed in 1922 at the Church of Our Lady of Good Voyage in Gloucester, Massachusetts and more than 170 additional ones have been built.

Number of Carillons built each year from 1922 to 2022	Cumulative Number of Carillons from 1922 to 2022

No comprehensive list of resources about American carillons is known to exist.  General resources will be listed here and those about individual carillons can be found on individual pages.

References (also see the Tones of Bells)
1775 The Present State of Music in Germany, the Netherlands and United Provinces Or The Journal of a Tour Through Those Countries, Undertaken to Collect Materials for a General History of Music: In Two Volumes, by Charles Burney | Volume 2 |

1860 "Chime of thirteen bells for Christ Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts, manufactured by Messrs. Henry N. Hooper & Co., Boston," Harper's Weekly 4(178):324 (May 26, 1860)

1871 English Belfries and Belgian Carillons, by Hugh Reginald Haweis

1876 Music and Morals, by Hugh Reginald Haweis

1889 "Belfry Chimes," Boston Sunday Globe, July 14, 1889, Page 20.
It is probable that there are few carillons in this country.  At Buffalo, N.Y., it is understood that there is a carillon of 48 bells, and those are run by a cylindrical shaped machine which is turned by a heavy weight, and that only four tunes can be placed in succession upon them.

1900 "Bells and Carillons," by Mabel Josephine Coats," Music: A Monthly Magazine, Devoted to the Art, Science, Technic and Literature of Music 17(5):501-508 (March 1900)

1912 Church Bells of England, by Henry Beauchamp Walters

1914 Carillons of Belgium and Holland; tower music in the Low Countries, by William Gorham Rice | also here |

1915 "Bell Music of Belgium Stilled by German Shells," by William Gorham Rice, The Sun, January 24, 1915, Page 42.

1915 "Tower Music of Belgium and Holland," by William Gorham Rice, Musical Quarterly 1(2):198-215 (April, 1915) | also here |

1915 "English Carillons," by W. W. Starmer, The Musical Times 56(808):330-335 (June 1, 1915)

1915 Carillons, by William Wooding Starmer

1915 The Carillon in Literature: A Collection from Various Authors with Some Notes on the Carillon Art, by William Gorham Rice

1916 Vanished Towers and Chimes of Flanders, by George Wharton Edwards

1917 "The Carillons of Flanders," Detroit Free Press, February 24, 1917, Page 6.
Vanished Towers and Chimes of Flanders the Theme of George Warton Edwards.

1917 "Victor Hugo's Praise of Belgian Carillon Music," by William Gorham Rice, The New York Times Magazine, August 12, 1917, Page 6.

1917 "The Great Bell of Moscow," by W.W. Starmer, Scientific American Supplement 84(2176):163 (September 15, 1917)

1917 "Historic Chimes of Flanders Hushes by Vandalism," The Washington Post, November 18, 1917, page 7.
Germans turn the peal of carillons into thunderous roar of the implements of war.

1917 "Belgian Towers & Carillon Music," advertisement, The New York Times Book Review, December 2, 1917, Page 530.
A Calendar for 1918.  Sketches by Roy Hilton.  Description by Wm. Gorham Rice.

1918 "Belgians Grieve as Germans Take Bells," Washington Evening Star, March 31, 1918, Page 5-6
Last of the Famous Carillons of Flanders;  All Brass Also Seized.

1918 "Bruges and Antwerp Bells," Letter from William Gorham Rice, Springfield Republican, July 26, 1918, Page 6.
Little Hope That the Germans Will Spare Them.  Letter received from E. Denison Taylor of Loughborough.

1918 "Carillons:  The Art of Bellringing," The Times (London, England), July 27, 1918, page 9. | also here |
"Thorough Knowledge of Music, Good Hands and Feet, and No Gout."
Every bell has at least five principal tones in it which can be accurately tuned. These principal tones are the Strike Note, Nominal, Hum Note (these three must be perfect octaves with each other, Tierce (minor 3rd), and Quint (perfect 5th)
[This may have been written by William Wooding Starmer]

1918 "Carillon Bells Joy of England," Democrat and Chronicle, September 16, 1918, Page 9.

1918 "Carrilons--the Art of Bellringing," Scientific American Supplement 84(2234):301 (November 9, 1918) Reprinted from July 27 London Times article

1919 "War Adds a 'Peace Bell' to Belgium's Classic Carillons," The Kansas City Star, January 4, 1919, Page 10.
Captured Cannon Afford Material for New Chimes to Hang in the Historic Belfries Looted by the German Armies in the Period of Military Occupation.

1920 "Chime of 48 Bells to Ring for Liberty," The New York Times, January 20, 1920, Page 2.
New Association Plans Musical Tower in Memory of Fighters in the War.
Mrs. James Wallace, founder of the Victory Chimes and Carillon Association, 13 West Ninth Street, announced yesterday that the organization had been chartered and would begin a campaign for funds during "Music Week," Feb. 1 to 7.

1920 "The Carillons of Belgium," Letter from William Gorham Rice, Springfield Republican, March 4, 1920, Page 8.
Many Destroyed During the War--Suitable as Memorials

1920 "Mechlin Contains Finest Carillon," letter from William Gorham Rice, The Sunday Star, March 7, 1920, Page 23.
Josef Denyn Will Give Recitals on Bells This Summer in Belgium

1920 "A Distinguished American Visits Belgium," Buffalo Evening News, September 16, 1920, Page 12.
The Hon. William Gorham Rice, chairman of the civil service committee of New York state, has just returned with Mrs. Rice from a short visit to Holland, Belgium and England.

1920 "A Musical Adventure for America," Geographic News Bulletin (November 15, 1920) | PDF |
Musicians Who May Require Gymnastic Training
Producing music from the bells requires great skill and dexterity on the part of the bellmaster, for he must use his feet for the larger bells, and the muscles of both his wrist and elbow are brought into play in producing the tremolando effect usually given. A fine carillon is not the result of a chance moulding of metal, but its making is as much an achievement wrought by a wise combination of excellent material and deep thought as a Stradivarius.  Lovers of carillon music compare the tones to those of a pianoforte in delicacy and to an organ in majesty. When touched by the hand of a master like Denyn, the wizard of Malines, the music seems to come veritably from the heavens and to settle in peace and benediction over the surrounding country.

1921 "E. Denison Taylor," The Ottawa Journal, May 12, 1921, Page 3.
E. Denison Taylor of Jno. Taylor and Co., Bell Founders, Loughboro', England, is staying at the Chauteau Laurier.
Anyone desiring to see Mr. Taylor with reference to bell will please telephone for an appointment.

1921 "The Carillons of Belgium after the Great War," by William Gorham Rice, Art and Archeology 12(2):51-73 (August 1921)

1922 "Society," Washington Evening Star, July 17, 1922, Page 8.
Representative A. Platt Andrew has as his guest at Gloucester, Mass. Mr. William Gorham Rice of Albany, who is a member of the New York civil service commission. Mr. Rice will give a talk tomorrow evening in the Gloucester city hall on the carillons of Holland. Belgium anil France. He will sail Saturday for France to attend the international conference of carilloneurs at Malines.

1922 "Jef Denyn Institute Opens," Washington Sunday Star, July 23, 1922, Page 35.
The inauguration of the school will coincide with the public celebration of the thirty-fifth anniversary of the appointment of the eminent carillon virtuoso, Jef Denyn, as the official carilloneur of the metropolitan city of Malines.
There is one woman in Belgium, noted as a most skilful carillon player, the daughter of Jef Denyn, whose place she has often supplied at the aerial keyboard.  She is said to be the only women carilloneur in the world and on the occasion of her marriage a few years ago, her father's pupils, as a tribute to her extraordinary proficiency, kept the chimes of St. Rumbold's at Malines singing all day, to the delight of all within hearing of the bells.

1922 Tentoonstelling voor beiaardkunst, Mechelen, 1922; tweede uitgave van den catalogus. 13 Augustus - 18 September 1922 | also here | and here |

1922 Beiaardkunst: handelingen | also here |
Pages 21-30: William Gorham Rice (Vereenigde Staten van Amerika): The growth of the interest in carillons in the United States. | pdf |
Pages 46-48: William Wooding Starmer (Engeland; vervangend den heer Denison Taylor, klokgieter te Loughborough): The art of founding carillon bells. | pdf |
Pages 66-69: Will. Wooding Starmer: Influence of Mechlin carillon art on English bell founding and bell music | pdf |

1922 Bulletin de la société "Union musicologique" 2(2):88-89 (1922)
LE CONGRÈS DE L'ART DU CARILLON, À MALINES (13, 14, 15 AOÛT 1922)
Organisé à l'occasion du 35e anniversaire de l'entrée en fonctions de M. Jef Denijn comme carillonneur de la ville de Malines, ce congrès était présidé par M. le Dr. G. Van Doorslaer, qui en fut l'âme et n'épargna aucun effort pour sa bonne réussite.
Des délégations et des collaborations venues des Etats-Unis, de France, d'Angleterre et de Hollande contribuèrent à lui donner un caractère véritablement international.
Voici la liste des communications qui y furent faites:
1) William Gorham Rice (Etats-Unis): The growth of the interest in carillons in the United States.
2) A. Brandts Buys (délégué officiel du Gouvernement Néerlandais): Noord-Nederlandsche Klokkenspelen en Noord-Nederlandsche Klokkenspel-kunst.
3) William Wooding Starmer (Angleterre; en remplacement de Denison Taylor): The art of founding carillon bells.
4) Marcel Michiels (Belgique): De klokken en hare medeklinkende tonen.
5) Gérard De Ridder (Belgique): Klokkenspel en torenbouw.
6) Joh. W. Meyll (Hollande): Tuimelaar en broeksysteem in de beiaard-inrichting.
7) Will. Wooding Starmer: Influence of Mechlin carillon art on English bell founding and bell music.
8) Henry De Coster (Belgique): De Beiaardschool. 9) Ch. De Mette: La technique du carillon en rapport avec l'art.
10) Paul Bergmans (Belgique): Le carillonneur gantois Le Blan et son „Livre de Clavecin", 1732.
11) Lambrecht Lambrechts (Belgique): Beiaard en klokken in het moderne kunstlied.
12) Jef Denijn (Belgique): Wat zal de beiaard spelen?
13) Dr. G. Van Doorslaer (Belgique): a) Ontstaan van het eerste beiaardklavier; b) Samenwerking van klokgieter en uurwerkmaker als factor bij de ontwikkeling der beiaarden.
14) A. van Werveke (Belgique): De ontwikkeling van het klokkenspel te Gent.
15) G. van Zuylen (Hollande): Beiaardspel in verband met volksgezang en volksleven.
16) Jan Wauters (Belgique): De Beiaard als volksinstrument.
17) Prosper Verheyden (Belgique): Het klokkenspel in verluchte handschriften.
Après que ces diverses communication eurent été faites, le Congrès émit les voeux suivants :
1°) d'organiser un nouveau congrès d'ici à deux ans.
2°) d'établir un modèle-type pour le clavier manuel et le pédalier du carillon.
Pendant la durée du Congrès, des concerts de carillon eurent lieu tous les soirs. Les exécutants étaient, d'une part, Jef Denijn et les meilleurs élèves de son Ecole de Carillon, MM. C. Lefèvere et Gustave Nees; d'autre part, MM. G. van Zuylen (Gouda), A. Schynkel (Audenarde), A. Nauwelaerts (Bruges), J. Oremus (Arnhem), J. W. Meyll (Nijkerk), F. Redouté (Mons), A. Rolliers (St. Nicolas-Waes), A. Brees (Anvers). Répertoire très varié, mais à tendances parfois discutables, la virtuosité pure l'emportant, à maintes reprises, sur cette simplicité populaire pleine de saveur qui seule est vraiment dans le caractère du carillon.
Une brochure très bien comprise (22 p.), imprimée chez Godenne, à Malines, donne le programme détaillé du Congrès. Une autre brochure (48 p.) forme le catalogue de l'Exposition de l'art du Carillon organisée à Malines à l'occasion du Congrès, et qui remporta un vif succès, grâce à la documentation précieuse qu’ elle apportait à tous ceux qu'intéresse l'art du carillon. En dehors de la section néerlandaise, qui formait à elle seule un tout cohérent, rassemblé et mis en ordre par M. A. Brandts Buys, l'Exposition comptait 293 numéros, comportant notamment des cloches et des mécanismes de carillon, de nombreux documents iconographiques, des recueils de musique pour carillon et des ouvrages traitant de la matière (les nos. 157 à 293 forment un répertoire bibliographique de tout ce qui a rapport au carillon).

1922 "Chimes for Riverside Drive," The New York Times, September 17, 1922, Page 7-1.
The Bells of History, as the new carillon will be called, are to be placed at the corner of Riverside Drive and 122d Street.  The school children of America wil become legal customers for all time of these forty-eight bells. The tower, to be known as the Tower of Democracy, would be placed adjacent to Grant's Tomb and not far from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Miss Jane Wallace, founder of the movement, has worked for five years on the project.
Members of the National Council of the Bells of History Society.

1923 “Tower Music of Holland.” by William Gorham Rice, Holland and Her Colonies 3(4):3-11 (July 1923)

1923 "Church Bells, Chimes, and Carillons," by Roy Tample House, Christian Advocate 84(34):10-11 (August 31, 1923)

1924 "Loughborough's Ancient Industries:  The Casting of Bells," British and Colonial Review, June 1924

1924 Mechlinia 4(2):32 (Juin 1924)
Beiaardkunst: Handelingen van het Eerste Congres, Mechelen, 1922. – Gedrukt bij L. Godenne, te Mechelen (In-8°, 188 bl.]  Inhoud :
W. Gorham Rice : The growth of the interest in Carillons in the United States.
M. Brandts Buys : Klokspelers en klokkenspelen in Nederland.
W. Wooding Starmer : The Art of founding Carillon Bells.
M. Michiels : De Klok en hare boventonen.
G. De Ridder : Klokkenspel en Torenbouw.
J. Meyll : Tuimelaar en Broeksysteem in de Beiaardinrichting.
W. Wooding Starmer : Influence of Mechlin carillon art on English bell founders and bell music.
K. De Mette : De beiaardtechniek in verband met Beiaardkunst.
H. De Coster : De Beiaardschool
Prof. P. Bergmans : Le carillonneur gantois Le Blan et son « Livre de Clavecin » 1752.
L. Lambrechts. De Klok en het Lied.
J. Denyn : Wat zal de Beiaard spelen?
Dr G. Van Doorslaer : Ontstaan van het eerste beiaard-klavier.
Dr G. Van Doorslaer : Samenwerking van klokgieter en uurwerkmaker of werktuigkundige als factor bij de ontwikkeling der beiaarden.
A. Van Werveke : De ontwikkeling van het klokkenspel te Gent.
Van Zuylen : Beiaardspel in verband met volkszang en volksleven.
J. Wauters : De Beiaard als volksinstrument.
P. Verheyden : Het klokkenspel in verluchte handschriften.
P. Verheyden : Beiaardrepertorium van J. de Gruytters (Antw. 1746).

1924 "The Carillon at Morristown," by Frederick Rocke, The New Music Review 23(274):417-419 (September 1924)

1924 “Carillon Music,” by William Gorham Rice, The New Music Review 23(274):419-424 (September 1924)

1925 "Singing Towers of Holland and Belgium," by William Gorham Rice, National Geographic Magazine, 47:357-376 (March 1925)

1925 "Carillon Music of the Netherlands and America," William Gorham Rice, Art and Archeology 20(1):3-13 (July 1925) 

1925 "Carillon," The New Yorker 1(37):2-3 (October 31, 1925)
The Park Avenue Carillon represents an advance over previous chimes of approximately similar size, for a special attachment of the clapper on each bell makes it possible for the carilloneur to modulate tone volume.  Until now that was impossible.  A note, however often struck, always had the same value, and went on welling into the melody until its last vibrations died off in the dim distance.

1925 Beiaardkunst : Handelingen Van Het Tweede Congres 's-Hertogenbosch, August 14,-16, 1922
Pages 72-81:  "Carillon music and singing towers of the old world and the new," by William Gorham Rice | pdf |
Pages 79-81: "The Art of tuning Carillon Bells," by Cyril F. Johnston of Croydon, England | pdf |
Pages 148-156: "Bell - Bell Music and Carillons of the British Isles," by William Wooding Starmer, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, Professor of Campanology Birmingham University, te Tunhridge Wells (Engeland): | pdf |

1925 "The Carillon Congress," by Frederick Rocke, The New Music Review 25(289):9-11 (December 1925)

1925 "Carillon Expert Lauds Instrument," by William Gorham Rice, Detroit Free Press, December 13, 1925, Page 39.
Responds to article in Harper's Magazine.

1925 "Carillon Gains Popularity in U.S.," Washington Evening Star, December 22, 1925, Page 45.
Famous Bells of European Countries in Use in 15 American Cities.

1925 Carillon music and singing towers of the Old world and the New, by William Gorham Rice | Also here |

1925 "Traces Uses of Carillon in Music," Asbury Park Press, December 22, 1925, Page 14.

1926 "Carillons," The New Music Review 25(290):45-46 (January 1926)

1926 "Reception to Anton Brees," The New Music Review 25(290):50-51 (January 1926)

1926 "Old World Carillon Finds Favor in America," by William Gorham Rice, New York Times, April 11, 1926, Pages 6, 21
Bells in Singing Towers are Multiplying Rapidly and Their Music Attracts and Charms Many Listeners

1926 "A Municipal Carillon Tower," The Bulletin of the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design 2(7):2-12 (April 1926)

1926 "Women Compete in Bell-Ringing," The New York Times, June 27, 1926, Page 18
English Girls Superseded "Youths" --Lore of Campanology Runs Beyond History--Some of the World's Famous Peals

1926 "Carillon to Memory of W.J. Bryan May Have Its Site at Hains Point," Washington Evening Star, July 11, 1926, Page 5-6.
Growing Appreciation in United States of This Form of Music Makes Proposed Structure Especially Pleasing.
Picture of Frederick Rocke playing at Morristown.

1926 "Bells and Oil," The New Yorker 2(31):17-18 (September 18, 1926)
If the fifty-three Rockefeller bells of the Park Avenue Baptist Church, the largest of which weighs ten tons, peal a bit timidly into the great chasm of Park Avenue just now, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., is not to Blame.  He did his best.
Last year Mr. Rockefeller imported from Belgium Anton Brees, gay young carilloneur from the Cathedral of Antwerp.  There was something delightful about the artistic whole-heartedness with which the ringer of bells in dreamy, mystic Flanders tackled the mighty city of New York.  His first request was that all traffic on Park Avenue be stopped while he played his chimes.
Now, as everyone knows, there is nothing dreamy or impractical about the church's trustees.  They tend toward steel, oil, and pig iron.  A great city cannot stop its traffic on account of bells, even though they be made of pig iron, they gently explained to Mr. Brees.  Also, would he please play things more familiar to Americans?  Tinkling little airs which ring from the cathedrals of Holland and Belgium mystified the good people of New York.
Mr. Brees vowed he would not change his programs.  Furthermore, he declared he wanted a new apartment of private bath.  He was tired of living in the Y.M.C.A.
"A bath!" exclaimed the trustees of the Park Avenue Baptist Church.
In consternation they summoned Mr. Rockefeller.  The latter was pained.  Wasn't Mr. Brees making five times what he made in Belgium?
Mr. Brees admitted that his was, then added, with Flemish shrewdness, meeting the oil magnate on his own ground, "I've been told I should save half my salary."
"Did you have a bath in Antwerp?" parried Mr. Rockefeller.  And scored too, for Anton Brees did not have one.
All morning they argued; then to his secretary's astonishment, Mr. Rockefeller ordered lunch served them in his office.  Following which they argued all afternoon.
Now the Flemish bell-ringer has gone back to Antwerp, where cathedrals boast Rubenses and baths are unknown.  Percival Price, twenty-one-year-old Canadian, has taken his place.  The new artist's music is as yet a bit timid, but this winter he is being sent abroad to study under Josef Denyn, who for thirty-seven years has played the incomparable seventeenth century Hemony bells which hang in the Cathedral of Malines.

1927 "Ruth Muzzy Conniston Will Play Carillon," Decatur Herald and Review, January 16, 1927, Page 20.
Ruth Muzzy Conniston will replace Percival Price at the carilloneur of the Park Avenue Baptist Church in the recital to be broadcast by WJZ at 6:00 o'clock this evening. Percival Price, who has been heard in all of the concerts of the past as the carilloneur of WJZ's broadcasts; is going abroad to study at the Carillon school at Malines, Belgium, and will be away during the months of January, February and March. Mrs. Conniston is a student of Mr. Price on the carillon and a well known organist in New York city. She will substitute for Mr. Price during his entire leave of absence.

1927 "To Play Chimes," San Francisco Examiner, January 16, 1927, Page 68.
The chimes will be played by Ruth Muzzy Conniston, organist of Third Church of Christ, Scientists, In Boston, who la believed to be the only woman carillonneur in this country,

1927 "Now Sounding Chimes," North Adams Transcript, January 18, 1927, Page 3.
New York - One of three carillon players in the world is now sounding chimes at the Park Avenue Baptist church. With thickly padded rubber gloves, Miss Ruth Muzzy Conniston strikes pegs and improvises on 53 bells, as there is no printed music. There is a woman carillon player in England and another in Belgium.

1927 "America's Only Carilloneuse," The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 20, 1927, Page 21.
Miss Ruth Muzzy Conniston, distinguished as the only woman carillon player in the United States, photographed at the keyboard of the Park Avenue Baptist Church chimes in New York.

1927 "Woman Plays Carillon," Chicago Tribune, January 23, 1927, Page 54.
New York has the only woman carillon player In America to its credit -- one of the only three women known to play tho carillon anywhere. She is Miss Ruth Muzzy Conniston, who is at present engaged upon pounding the pegs of the Park Avenue Baptist church's carillon, given to the church by Mr. Rockefeller last year. Miss Conniston is substituting for Percival Price the regular, carillonist, who is now in Europe.
A carillon used to require twelve or fourteen husky men to pull the bell ropes In sequence, It is said, but Miss Cunniston with a set of levers plays fifty-three bells, using rubber gloves thickly padded with rubber under the fist, to strike the pegs which make the clappers ring. According to Miss Conniston. who is a church organist when she is not officiating at the Fosdick church's carillon, the hardest part of carillon playing is the improvising of music for the bass bells for which no printed scores are available.

1927 "Oxford Takes Up Bell Ringing Art," The New York Times, March 20, 1927, Page 15
Campanology" Is Enthusiastically Studies by Undergraduates--Carillons and Highly Accomplished Time Artists of Europe

1927 Beiaarden in de Nederlanden: Bijdrage tot de geschiedenis en de kennis van klokkenspellen en klokketorens in Noord-Frankrijk, België en Nederland, by William Gorham Rice

1927 The Carillon. [With Illustrations, Including Portraits.], John Taylor Bellfoundry | also here |

1927 The Taylor Bell Foundry, Loughborough, England

1928 "Carillons and Bells," by Frederic J. Haskin, Buffalo Evening News, July 25, 1928, Page 21.

1928 "Thirty Carillons in United States," Holyoke Daily Transcript, August 24, 1928, Page 24.

1928 "Belfry Topics," The Western Times (Exeter, England), August 31, 1928, Page 3.
Popularity of carillons in the United States.

1928 "Many Carillons are Coming From England," Springfield Republican, September 9, 1928, Page 13.

1928 "Music and Musicians," The Macon Telegraph, September 16, 1928, Page 28.

1928 "The Observer: Carrillon Music," The Flint Daily Journal, December 12, 1928, Page 6.

1929 "Singing Towers," by Van Tassel Sutphen, The North American Review 277(1):83-88 (January, 1929)

1929 "A School for Carillonneurs," The New York Times, July 7, 1929, Page 99.
The first school of "campanology" in America, to teach the art of bellplaying, will be inaugurated next season by the ·Curtis Institute of Music, it is announced by Josef Hofmann, director. There are only two other schools of this art in the world, one at Malines, Belgium, and the other at Oxford University. Students of the Curtis.Institute will be sent to Mountain Lake, Fla., where Edward Bok has erected the famous Singing Tower. They will receive instruction under Anton Brees, carillonneur of the Bok Singing Tower.  There are said· to· be thirty carillons in ·the United.States, many of them silent because of the lack of qualified players;

1929 Church Bells, Carillons, Tower Clocks, Electric Clocks. [With illustrations.], by Gillett and Johnson, Ltd

1929 Great carillons : an appreciation of the Taylor Bellfoundry, Loughborough, Leicestershire, England | also cataloged under Wonder Bells for America | also here |

1930 "Chimes of a Springfield Church Ring Out Today," The Boston Globe, January 16, 1930, Page 16.
The 10th anniversary of prohibitions advent today was celebrated by the ringing of bells in a number of Protestant churches at noon. Outstanding in this form of observance was the playing of a number of tunes on the carillon of Trinity Methodist Church, one of the largest in the world, by Mrs J. E. Snyder, carilloneur, The municipal chime was silent.

1930 "Dedicate Carillon at Valley Forge Next Week," Press-Enterprise (Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania), April 12, 1930, Page 4.

1930 "Singing Towers For All the People," by Grace Tabor, Woman's Home Companion 87(12):110-120 (December 1930)

1930 Carillon Music and Singing Towers of the Old World and the New, Revised and Enlarged, by William Gorham Rice

1931 "Mrs. Snyder, Carilloneur, Dies in Springfield," The Boston Globe, March 2, 1931, Page 7.
Mrs. Mary E. Snyder, one of the few women carilloneurs of this country, died today. She had played the carillon in Trinity Methodist Church, one of the largest in the country, since its installation a few years ago. She was a teacher and active in musical affairs.

1931 "28th Bell Placed in Carillon at Valley Forge," The Sunday News (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), April 19, 1931, Page 6.

1931 "New Trinity Carillon is Heard Today," Hartford Courant, December 9, 1931, Page 1 | Part 2 |

1931 Church bells, carillons, tower clocks, electric clocks, by Gillett & Johnston Ltd

1933 "The Carillon Invades America," by F.R. Webber, The American Mercury 29(113):86-90 (May 1933)

1933 The Carillon, by Frank Percival Price | Table of Contents | also here |

1933 In the Carillon Country: Journals of Belgium and the Netherlands, by Harriet Langdon Pruyn Rice

1934 "Singing Towers:  The Singing Tower and Chapel of the University of Chicago," by Kamiel Lefevere, The Church Monthly 8(3):50-53 (January 1934)

1937 "How the Carillon Idea Started and Grew," by Norman J. Whitney, The Alumni News (Alfred University), 17-19 (Winter 1937)

1938 The Book of Bells, by Satis Narrona Coleman | also here |

1939 The Taylor Bell Foundry, Loughborough, England. 

1940 "Nazi Invasion Bars Anton Brees from Homeland," The Durham Herald-Sun, June 23, 1940, Page 5.

1940 A Short History of Bells, by Kamiel Lefévere

1945 Col William Gorham Rice (23 Dec 1856 - 10 Sep 1945) grave | Wikipedia page |

1946 "Carillons," by Percival Price, The Atlantic (October 1946)

1948 "Permanent Bell Tower Soon at Valley Forge," The Sunday News (Lancaster, Pennsylvania, March 21, 1948, Page 18. | Part 2 |

1948 "The Bells Came Down," by Percival Price, Quarterly Review: A Journal of University Perspectives 55(10):9-18 (December 4, 1948)

1948 Chimes and Electronic Carillons: Modern Tower Bells, by Paul D. Peery

1948 Campanology, Europe 1945-47: A Report on the Condition of Carillons on the Continent of Europe as a Result of the Recent War, on the Sequestration and Melting Down of Bells by the Central Powers, and on Research Into the Tonal Qualities of Bells Made Accessible by War Time Dislodgement, by Frank Percival Price | also here | and here |

1948 Carillon. An Account of the Class of 1892 Bells at Princeton, with Notes on Bells and Carillons in General. [With Plates.], by Arthur Lynds Bigelow | also here |

1949 English Type Carillonic Bells: Their History and Music, by Arthur Lynds Bigelow | also here | also here |

1949 Bells Over Belgium, by Kamiel Lefévere, Belgian Government Information Center | also here | 3rd edition (1953) |

1951 Carillons at Christmas: famous American bell towers, by William Cassidy
[The illustrations are from a 1930 article by Grace Tabor, see link above]

1952 "And What About the Electronic Carillon?," by Arthur Lynds Bigelow, Etude 70(7):14-15, 62-63 (July 1952)

1953 Bells of All States, by Grace E. Kaiser

1957 "Church Carillon Recital Saturday," Democrat and Chronicle, May 19, 1957, Page 4F
The carillonic bells of the Asbury-First Methodist Church tower will sing out next Saturday afternoon beginning at 3:30 under the hand of Anton Brees, well known virtuoso of the carillons, who has given similar recitals in many cities of this country and abroad.
A purist in his admiration for fine cast bell instruments, Brees refused to consider electronic carillons as worthy of his artistry until he investigated the Schulmerich "Arlington" carillon, invented by George Schulmerich of Sellersville. Pa. Amazed at the flexibility, perfection of tone quality and ease of playing, Brees began a serious study of the instrument, and ended by becoming a virtuoso in its performance.
The Asbury-First bells, installed by the Schulmerich company, comprise 61 notes and reproduce the tonal range of cast bells weighing in excess of 300,000 pounds.

1957 "'Completely Drawn Apart' is Feeling of Carillonneur," Springfield Union, August 7, 1957, Page 24.
Kamiel Lefevere

1960 The Carillons of North America, a List of the Carillons Playable by Baton Keyboard, Exclusive of Those in Storage Or Up for Sale, by Percival Price

1962 "Bob and His Bells," The Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine, October 2, 1958, Page 22
1958 Brussels World's Fair electric and traditional carillon

1961 The Art of Playing the Modern Carillon, by John Klein
[Modern = Electric = Satanic]

1962 The Leonidas Polk Memorial Carillon, the University of the South, by Arthur Lynds Bigelow

1963 "A Carillonneur Talks of Bells and Bells," Washington Sunday Star, September 8, 1963, Page C-2
Arthur Lynds Bigelow

1963 A Synthesis of Carillon Keyboards (4 Oct.) from England, Europe, North America, by Arthur Lynds Bigelow

1967 Arthur Lynds Bigelow (2 Sep 1909 - 25 Feb 1967) report of death

1967 Anton Joseph Clement Corneille Brees (14 Sep 1897 - 5 Mar 1967) grave

1967 "Arthur Bigelow, Bellmaster, 57; Carillonneur at Princeton Died on European Trip," The New York Times, March 10, 1967, page 20.

1971 "Camille Cremers will give recital on Washington Memorial Carillon," The Mercury (Pottstown, Pennsylvania), July 13, 1971, Page 7.
Camille Cremers, the youngest female carillonneur in North America and one of the very few female carillonneurs in the world, will give a recital on the Washington Memorial National Carillon at Valley Forge Wednesday evening.

1972 Kamiel Lefevere (24 November 1888 - 11 May 1972) Report of Death

1973 Jubileumboek 1922-1972: Koninklijke Beiaardschool Jef Denyn te Mechelen, by Willy Godenne, Henry Joosen
A collection published on the 50th anniversary of the Royal Carillon School.
Pages 293-311:  "The Development of the Art of the Carillon in North America," a paper delivered at Mechelen, Belgium, on July 30, 1972, by Milford Myhre, carillonneur of the Bok Singing Tower in Lake Wales, Florida and president of The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America.

Posters from Jef Denyn's beiaardspel Mechelen
1923-1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1954	1969

1976 That Vanishing Sound, by L. Elsinore Springer | also here |
Page 181:  The Carillon in America

1983 Bells and Man, by Percival Price | also here |

1987 Master of My Art.  The Taylor Bellfoundries 1784-1987, by Trevor S. Jennings

1991 The Cornell chimes: In Celebration of the Hundredth Anniversary of McGraw Tower, by Ed McKeown
The original set of nine bells, a gift of Jennie McGraw, first rang out at the university's opening ceremonies October 7, 1868. Over time the chime has been recast and expanded to 21 bells. Three concerts are performed each day while classes are in session.

1991 The art of the carillon in the Low Countries, by Andre? Lehr, Wim Truyen and Gilbert Huybens. | also here |

1992 45 Years of Dutch Carillons, 1945-1990, by Netherlands Carillon Society | also here |

1993 Mary Perry Mesquita Dahlmer (12 Oct 1897 - 14 Oct 1993) Grave | Wikipedia page |

1996 Carillon: the evolution of a concert instrument in North America, by Karel and Linda Keldermans | also here |

1998 "Bok's Magic," The Tampa Tribune, February 6, 1998, Page 1 | Page 2 |

2000 "Noise about town: the history of carillons," René van Peer, Public Art Review 11(2)4-7 (Spring/Summer 2000).

2004 "Beloved Carillon May Ring True, but Its History Doesn't," The New York Times, February 22, 2004, Page A23.
Alfred University

2008 England's Child, The Carillon and the Casting of Big Bells, by Jill Johnston (related to Gillett & Johnston)

2009 The Bell Man: The Autobiography of the Man Who Created Cast In Bronze, by Frank DellaPenna

2010 "Remembering and Performing the Idea Campus: the Sound Cultures of Interwar American Universities," by Kimberly Schafer, doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at Austin.

2014 Meet the Carillonneur of the Capitol, by Erin Nelson, May 8, 2014

2014 Singing Bronze: A History of Carillon Music, by Luc Rombouts | also here |

2015 "The Mayo Clinic Carillon," Mayo Clinic Proceedings (May 2015)

2015 "A New History of the Carillon," Tiffany K. Ng, Keyboard Perspectives 8:185-193 (2015)

2015 "The Heritage of the Future: Historical Keyboards, Technology, and Modernism," by Tiffany Kwan Ng, Doctoral Dissertation in Music, UC Berkeley

2015 "Singing Bronze: A History of Carillon Music," book review by Jerden Dewulf, Dutch Crossing 39(1): 97-99 (March 2015) | also here |

2016 Large Bells of America: History of Church Bells, Fire Bells, School Bells, Dinner Bells and Their Foundries, by Neil Goeppinger

2018 Principles and Protocols: Carillon Culture in Flanders, Flemish Carillon Association
A guide for cities and municipalities that have carillons.

2019 Wikipedia Edit-a-thon: Where are the articles on women who changed carillon history? 

2020 The Liberty Bell and Its Legacy: An Encyclopedia of an American Icon in U.S. History and Culture, by John R. Vile

2021 Bells & Bellfounding: A History, Church Bells, Carillons, John Taylor & Co., Bellfounders, Loughborough, England, by Michael J. Milsom

2022 Beiaard-En Klokkencultuur in De Lage Lande 1.1:30-54 (June 2022)
"100 Years Royal Carillon School'Jef Denyn," by Koen Cosaert and François van der Jeught

GCNA Directory on the Wayback Machine [GCNA has taken down their excellent directory of carillons]

In Search of North America's First Carillon, by Jeffrey Bossin

Milestones in North American Traditional Carillons, TowerBells.org

A Guide to the William Gorham Rice Papers,  DP 587, Albany Institute of Art
Includes a biography and carillon history

William Gorham Rice Papers, 1873-1997, SC12866, New York State Library

Anton Brees Carillon Library at Bok Tower Gardens

Arthur L. Bigelow Papers, 1941-1966, Princeton University

Carillon History by Adelheid Rech | Part 2 |

Old Ringing Books, by the Whiting Society of Ringers

The Diapason 

CarillonWomen.org 

Guild of Carillonneurs of North America

TowerBells.org Many thanks to Carl Zimmerman for his feedback and proofreading!

This web site was inspired by my two carillonneur friends, Claire Janezic and Molly Kilian.  Additional information, suggestions, questions, and corrections are always welcome and can be submitted to:

Morris A. Pierce
Department of History
362 Rush Rhees Library
University of Rochester
Rochester NY 14627-0070
m.pierce@rochester.edu
Hopeman Memorial Carillon

Last updated November 3, 2024.

© 2022-2024 Morris A. Pierce