| 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.
American Carillons Built in Each Decade | |||||||||||
Years | 1921-1930 | 1931-1940 | 1941-1950 | 1951-1960 | 1961-1970 | 1971-1980 | 1981-1990 | 1991-2000 | 2001-2010 | 2011-2020 | 2021-2030 |
Number Built | 25 |
19 |
6 |
28 |
27 |
18 |
16 |
12 |
16 |
7 |
2 |
Cumulative Number | 25 |
44 |
50 |
78 | 105 |
123 |
139 |
151 |
167 |
174 |
176 |
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
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