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Carillon News

May 23, 2005
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Brian Swager is carillon editor of THE DIAPASON.

Riverside reborn

The installed in the Park Avenue Baptist Church in 1925. Benefactor John D. Rockefeller, Jr., continued his close collaboration with Cyril Johnston and project consultant Frederick Mayer when in 1930 the instrument was moved to The Riverside Church and expanded to 74 bells. For all its glory in the bass range, G&J had yet to thoroughly succeed in producing bells in the treble range that were consistent in quality of tuning and timbre. Furthermore, the sound of the bells was somewhat muffled, and carillon music could not be heard clearly from the ground. The church was persuaded to replace the 58 highest treble bells in 1955, and unfortunately, the new bells cast by the Van Bergen foundry of The Netherlands proved to be a step in the wrong direction.

For the most recent renovation, the Riverside Church chose Olympic Carillon, Inc. of Port Townsend, Washington. The re-engineering of the instrument, under the direction of Peter Hurd, included the replacement of the 58 treble bells, fabrication of a new playing console, revision of the bell chamber and playing cabin, and installation of a new transmission system. The mechanism for the chiming peal and hour strike was to be installed this spring. The 74 bells of the carillon range in weight from the 10-pound treble bell to the 40,900-pound bourdon bell, which is the largest and heaviest tuned bell in the world.

The new bells were cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry and were designed to complement the original 16 Gillett & Johnston bells. In order to have greater sound projection from this 390-foot tower, the new bells have considerably greater mass than the Gillett & Johnston treble bells from 1930.

The former playing cabin and a machine room were removed from the bell chamber as they both blocked the egress of bell sound from the tower. The new playing console was designed to a “new world standard” by Olympic Carillon. It is constructed of African Padauk hardwood and marine-grade stainless steel, equipped with stainless steel “flexures” for manual keys and roller bearing clevis assemblies for the pedal coupler mechanism. The Carillonneur’s Study was also supplied with a new practice console.

Former carillonneurs of The Riverside Church were Kamiel Lefevere (1927-1960), James R. Lawson (1960-1989), and Joseph Clair Davis (1990-1998). Dionisio A. Lind is the current carillonneur.

The rededication of the instrument was celebrated on Sunday 17 October 2004. Milford Myhre then gave the dedicatory recital. The service included a prayer of thanksgiving, words from the architect, and comments from David Hurd on the renovations. Mary Morgan was present for the dedication and recital. She shared the legacy of her great grandmother, Laura Spelman Rockefeller, for whom the Riverside carillon is named:

“I never met Laura Spelman. She was born in 1839, a hundred years before my birth . . .

“I think our family will be very touched to hear about the efforts and the victorious conclusion of what’s happening here today with the carillon. It seems grandfather’s gift was like a seed, and now it’s turned into a forest of accomplishment all around this beautiful instrument, bringing such amazing joy and spiritual uplifting to many people.

“So I also want to join my family in giving our thanks to all of those who spent so much time and effort and took such care in this rejuvenation.

“Laura was brought up in a home that was very connected to her community and to the important and emotionally troubling times they were living in. She went to [high] school in Ohio, and that’s where she met John D. Rockefeller.

“Laura loved music. She became an accomplished pianist and also had a lovely singing voice. One of the things that she and John D. Rockefeller did when they first started going out with each other [was] accompany each other in the evening singing and playing the piano. When Laura married John D. Rockefeller, they both had incredibly similar sensitivities, values, and interests.

“To dedicate this carillon to her…is a beautiful thing. She had a spirit that swelled and expressed itself way before its time. She was courageous and her spirit soared. . .

“Her middle name is Celestia. . . . Laura Celestia Spelman was her name before she was married. I like to think of that name, Celestia. . .  I think it’s really appropriate today, now as we get near time of the concert with this beautiful carillon.

“There was a foundation . . . that grandfather set up in her name. It was called the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Foundation. This foundation supported areas of Laura’s interest that included child study, education, public health, race relations, religion, and social welfare. An early beneficiary of support was the Atlantic Baptist Female Seminary, which was subsequently renamed Spelman College in honor of Mrs. Rockefeller’s family. . .  As many of you know, Spelman is the oldest black college for women.

“So I take my hat off to my great-grandmother, and I am so proud to be her great granddaughter. And I am happy to be present with you here today as we listen to this beautiful carillon and as we feel our spirits rise and expand, as we hopefully can enter into that place within us where we can bring out the best of who we are, just as the music swells to the celestial heavens.”

Send items for “Carillon News” to Dr. Brian Swager, c/o The Diapason, 380 E. Northwest Hwy., Suite 200, Des Plaines, IL 60016-2282; e-mail:

<[email protected]>. For information on the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America, write to: GCNA, 37 Noel Dr., Williamsville, NY 14221.

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