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Carillon News

by Brian Swager
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http://www.carillons/caught.in.the.net/

Sydney J. Shep is Associate Carillonneur of the National War Memorial Carillon in Wellington, New Zealand. She wrote this reflection on carillon web sites for the newsletter of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America. Dr. Shep is also a Printing Fellow at the Wai-te-ata Press at Victoria University of Wellington.

New tech, high tech, more tech, no tech? As everyone gets on the proverbial bandwagon to create web sites, the world of the carillon is no exception. In this review of carillon sites, I want to survey some of the existing sites,  assess them according to some principles of effective web design, look at the fundamental nature of the electronic medium, and point out the pitfalls for those contemplating their own entry into this new performance field.

What are the advantages of a web site? As most of us are aware, the contemporary hunger for information has engendered a network of facts and figures which requires a different kind of tool for efficient access and navigation. The internet is one such tool which complements but does not substitute for existing tools. This is particularly true both in its role as a dynamic, continually updateable, on-line database and in its populist form, the newest vehicle for super-marketing and advertising. Print-based resources still have a place in our lives and consciousness,  and books are definitely not dead. So, what information about the carillon can be best delivered through the internet rather than through any other communication medium? Pictures, sound, video, statistics, recital programs, publications? Most of these, yes; some, definitely not; and others, well, design is everything.

Virtually all web sites these days include a picture of the tower, possibly the bells themselves, maybe even the clavier and performer. Great--a picture can paint a thousand words. But remember, not all computers have image-capabilities and those that do may not be operated by a user who wants to spend time (and money) downloading a full-screen, full-color bitmap. A useful text tag describing the image both permits the non-image user to feel part of the imaginative net-scape, and acts as a signal for the image-capable to click here if s/he so desires. Another shortcut is to provide only a thumbnail of the image with a hypertext link to its "full" size version, but again, use the full-size image opportunity to add a caption line.

Many web designers think images add a little spice to the page to save it from boredom and inertia. However,  a few images here and there, surrounded by text so dense you might as well read it in a book is not the answer. Screen resolution is an eyewearying 72 dpi, not the 1220-2400 dpi we are accustomed to in print. For example, if you are presenting a guided tour of your carillon, don't let the text do the driving. Add graphic navigational aids like maps and pointers. Otherwise, you are encouraging the reader to download to a print version, and haven't you then lost the whole point of using this electronic medium? On this point, compare <http://www.chapel.duke.edu/chapel/tour.htm&gt; Duke University Chapel with <http://smith2.sewanee.edu/gsmith/MapServe/AllSaints.html&gt; All Saint's Chapel.

Furthermore, like creating an advertising slogan or a poster, the web site requires a different kind of writing--clear, concise, to the point--definitely more a report than an essay. Hypertext links assist in ordering these chains of information nuggets. Think of the home page as both cover and table of contents, not the whole book itself. Since first impressions are everything, the home page can either tempt your reader to continue the journey, or can turn her/him away completely. A simple, catchy layout with the primary facts plus a road map for further exploration all in the space of one screen, are sufficient for the home page. The advent of frames and tables-supporting browsers has led to greater awareness of the need for simple design, a tune called KISS ("Keep It Simple, Stupid") which paper-based graphic designers have been singing for decades. Good examples are found at: <http://www.cis.yale.edu/carillon/&gt; Yale University Carillon and at <http://www.bells.usyd.ed.au/&gt; University of Sydney War Memorial Carillon.

Through several levels of linking hierarchy (the pros suggest three levels maximum--with four you're in danger of getting lost yourself), a large amount and variety of information can be presented, but order it in advance to help your readers along the path.

Let them savor the information byte by dark chocolate byte rather than confusing them with the whole cake. And to prevent information overweight, recall what Dorothy says in "The Wizard of Oz"--there's no place like home. At the bottom of each page, a "Home" or "Back to Home Page" link provides a way of getting out of the sensory maze. For the overindulgent, take a look at <http://www.cict.fr/toulouse/carillon/carillons.html&gt; if you want to be overwhelmed by blinking video clips, dark image backgrounds and text which is barely decipherable. We are in the business to communicate, even in the postmodern world, n'est-ce pas?

Additional multimedia features available on the net can be a trap. As with images, both sound and even more so, video, require enormous amounts of time to download, memory, and specialist software. Are the results worth it? Let's look at sound for a moment, something most folks probably think is an ideal marketing tool for an instrument which, after all, is an audio experience. We all know that the carillon and its acoustical environment is one of the most difficult instruments to record, new digital technologies notwithstanding. Translate that to computer reproduction on the net and are you really doing the carillon a favor by including a sound byte? A barely recognizable, 410K, 20-second morsel of Jef Denyn complete with high-volume hiss and overmodulation certainly doesn't do justice to the composer, performer or instrument. Ditto, a 312K, 30-second, unnamed and unnameable folksong. As the net is becoming more and more a powerful marketing tool, you could be responsible for turning people right off the carillon because your sonic shorthand is  such an inadequate representation of the real thing. No wonder an electronic carillon sounds like a better option for the un- or mis-informed!

Until sound reproduction is more advanced on the computer, an excellent solution is to list where good-quality carillon recordings can be bought. The easiest mechanism for this is to include a linked e-mail address for further information, or even an order form if you are in the distribution business yourself and have no qualms about electronic commerce. If you want to list recordings, music editions, catalogs, or other statistical information, you need to provide clearly, visually-oriented material. Take the example of music composition. Some organizations go to a lot of work to provide octave range capabilities of the music they are selling, recognizing that most carillonneurs are shopping for music they can play on their own instruments, or music of a particular variety such as original compositions, arrangements, solo, duets, etc. So, rather than long composer/title lists which make the screen-reader go cross-eyed in short order, why not provide a set of links starting with instrument size, or with genre of music. Shaping the information in a manner appropriate to the instrument and its musicians is important. Long alphabetized lists just don't sell your product to carillonneurs or anyone else out there.

And, don't forget to update your information. The whole advantage of the net is that it provides the opportunity to furnish the most recent information. Such dynamic, online database capabilities are useless if the material is inaccurate or obviously outdated. The record of last year's concerts, workshops, and congresses may provide an interesting archive of facts and figures, but does nothing for the image of an institution if such information is tired and worn, or worded in the present tense. In the hiatus between annual events, why not include a general announcement about forthcoming events and retain last year's to give an indication as to the breadth of programming. The need to be vigilant about this is an essential part of the public profile of the instrument Similarly, don't rely on someone else to tell you when your links to other sites no longer work. It is your responsibility to check them regularly or use one of the software packages that can autocheck for you. There is nothing so frustrating to the first-time surfie or seasoned user to come up with a screen which shouts "URL Not Found." This also goes for many web sites which have changed servers or directory architecture and are likewise inaccessible unless you too change your html files.

Finally, where to start to get an overview of the wealth of carillon sites out there today and to assess their strengths and weaknesses? Most people begin with the proprietary search engines which come with your browser software: yahoo, lycos, etc. Yahoo's search pulls up nine entries for carillon; judge for yourself their relevance to our concerns: the Lubbock, Texas "Carillon Retirement Center" (not a bell in sight except for the corporate identity); two entries for electronic carillon manufacture (why spend money and time on old bells when you can have the chime master system); and most obscurely of all, the University of Regina's long-standing student newspaper entitled (what else) "Carillon." Lycos is more fruitful, with 1,225 "relevant documents," the first 19 out of 20 at least having something to do with the bell instrument we all know and love. In the interests of time and sanity, I suggest you bypass this route completely and jump to an excellent point of departure, Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut Guild of Carillonneurs' home page, URL <http://www.trincoll.edu/~carrill/carillon.html&gt;. In one hit, the major carillon installations worldwide are available for your surfing pleasure. Enjoy!

Related Content

The OrganNet Today: A Tangled World-Wide-Web We Weave

by Herbert L. Huestis
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The organ world of the Internet is indeed awash in web pages--a tangled mass of advertising with each "www.com" page clamoring for the "net-surfer's" attention. Some are merely informative sites, while the greatest share are "home pages" of organ builders and technicians. No one wants to be left out of the world wide web--there are books in every drug store promoting the benefits of advertising on the Internet. Someone behind every new web page is hoping for a bit of the largess that is promised by the purveyors of a new form of drug store novel: How to Succeed on the Web! What was once a vehicle for research and information is looking more and more like a topsy-turvy "yellow pages."

That being said, the situation will surely get worse before it gets better. Here and there one finds various sites that guide the earnest user amongst and between the "billboards," so they can find topics of real interest. The first bit of advice to organists who want to let their "fingers do the walking" on the Internet is to start with major "links" in the organ world, rather than trying to sort out the thousands of entries that are listed on the "search engines" like Webcrawler, Lycos, Yahoo, InfoSeek and Alta Vista.

Some links are found right where you would expect them--for example, The American Guild of Organists at http://www.agohq.org and the Royal College of Canadian Organists at http://www.capitalnet.com/~rjewell/rcco.html. Many fine offerings may be found at "Pipe Organs and Related Topics" at http://uacsc2.albany.edu/~piporg-l and of course, The Diapason at http://www.sgcpubs.com/thediapason.html and The Osiris Archive at http://osiris.wu-wien.ac.at/earlym-l/organs.

A most unexpected listing of pipe organ subjects appears under the "Nerdworld" banner at http://www.nerdworld.com.nw8061.html. Here the reader will find the American Pipe Organ Builders Association pages, resource pages for finding recordings of pipe organ related compact disks, and the usual organ builders' home pages!

Enough of internet jargon--perhaps it is useful to highlight typical people and places that serve as tour guides to this electronic malaise of competing "addresses." There are a few personalities who have emerged as leaders in "OrganNet" happenings. Here they are:

Ben Chi and Piporg-L

http://uacsc2.albany.edu/~piporg-l

The Piporg-L list remains as the most successful email gathering place for organ enthusiasts. The links presented here are logical and well organized. An evening spent perusing information and organizations here will be rewarding indeed.

Steve Fox and The Seattle Pipe Organ Scene

This is a fine example of "area" tours that are available on the net. Similar examples may be found all over the world. Armchair travelogues abound, and thanks to the web, world-wide commuters can plan the itinerary of any trip around organs of a geographical area. Steve can be found at http://www.eskimo.com/~sfox/seaorgan.htm.

Maureen Jais-Mick and AGO online

Ongoing columns in The American Organist serve as an excellent guide to OrganNet surfers. Its not a bad idea to clip out these columns and keep a little notebook of worthy places. Look for Maureen at http://www.agohq.org/-tao/agonline.html

Ross Jewell and Christopher Dawes of the RCCO

These two gentlemen are the "communications" department of the RCCO and their guide to the net is very focused and well organized.

Nerdworld

Nerdworld links are available in an extensive number of subject areas and topics of interest. This straightforward listing tends to highlight important organizations and associations and picks up important links that are hard to find elsewhere.

Here are a few tips to help unravel the morass of information you will encounter in a typical jaunt on the Internet.

Bookmark your interesting links

All internet software has long provided a means to "bookmark" points of interest found in an evening's surfing. That little mouse button called "add bookmark" can be extremely handy if you want to return to the scene of the crime to gather a bit more information later.

Saving documents

"Control-S" usually saves the document you are scanning directly to your computer. It's a sort of "quick ftp" meaning "file transfer protocol." That means you can almost effortlessly gather complete web pages and organ tours by "copying the file," or "saving as . . . "

Open a simultaneous word processor while you are "surfing"

It can be most helpful to open a word processor in your computer before you open your web browser. This means that if you come across an interesting address or site location, you can "copy" a bit of the screen text you encounter for future reference.

Keep a "link" notebook

This is the usual enjoinder to "organize your thoughts." It seems that "surfing" on the net suggests that the computer user is mindlessly floating from one bit of information to another, when in fact, we know that the human brain does not actually have to operate that way. Many folks are natural organizers in many aspects of their life, and once they sit in front of their computer, they have the option managing their time there, just they do in other aspects of their work and leisure. It's odd that people who would not take a motor trip without a planned itinerary will park themselves in front of the computer screen and mindlessly click the mouse without thinking "where am I going and what am I doing?"

Take heart. You can plan your computer commute the same way you plan other activities. As they say, "Just do it!" If you take the time to write down your preludes and postludes and choral anthem of the week--you can make a few notes of the sites you want to visit--that way you can reduce your computer time a bit, so that you don't raise the dander of the "computer widow (or widower)" in the other room. Bon Voyage!

Keeping Up with the OrganNet Or, &quot;Try Not to Spin Your Wheels in Cyberspace&quot;

by Herbert L. Huestis
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It seems like eons have passed since personal computers appeared in our lives--but it has only been a little over a decade since I bought my first grey box with a green phosphor screen--a 1984 Kaypro. It was built like a truck, was a great word processor, made no fan noise, and the cursor did not blink. Unfortunately, this super typewriter was considered obsolete in three years, and I replaced it with a "PC" with a fan so loud I thought it was going to take off. Nowadays, when I acquire a computer, I kill the blinking cursor and fuss with the fan to make it as quiet as the old Kaypro. So much for "keeping up!"

Today, the Internet challenges us as much as those first computers did. Kenneth Matthews writes to Piporg-L from San Francisco:

All right. If someone will explain to me, I promise to pay attention this time. I can't figure out (or remember) where Osiris actually is . . .

--Kenneth (spinning my wheels in cyberspace) Matthews

Ken's problem is not unique on the Internet. There are thousands of offerings, but you have to know where to find them. The Osiris Archive is no exception. Ken is trying to keep up, too.

There is so much activity on the OrganNet (Piporg-L) that most "cyber-organists" are panting to keep pace. Piporg-L started with 40 subscribers and has since passed the 600 mark. I long resisted Windows software, thinking I could avoid clicking on icons in favor of the ten commandments of DOS. Finally, I gave in so I could "surf the net" when Piporg-L joined the World Wide Web with their own "web page." This "hypertext" presentation of Piporg-L includes a link to the Osiris Archive as well.

What does all this mean?   Well, it means that you can load "Mosaic" or "Netscape," set your sights on http://albany.edu/~piporg-l or http://osiris.wu-wien.ac.at/ftp/pub/earlym-l/organs

and a page will appear on your computer screen to guide you through the OrganNet (Piporg-L) or The Osiris Archive.

From these "web pages" you can investigate a variety of organ topics from the Organs of Glasgow, to over six hundred specifications in the Osiris Archive. This is a big jump from just a few years ago, when this whole business was just getting started.

Here in a nutshell, are a few corners of cyberspace that organists can enjoy:

Piporg-L: Pipe organs and related topics

http://albany.edu/~piporg-l

The Piporg-L web page will introduce you the contents of the list, starting with a quick guide to searching the archives, biography files, the Osiris Archive, and recordings of organ music in the CD-Connection catalog.

Osiris Archive

http://osiris.wu-wien.ac.at/ftp/pub/earlym-l/organs/

The Osiris Archive web page describes how to search for over 600 organ specifications in the Osiris database. It lists help files that answer the most frequently asked questions about the archive--how to search for files, upload and downloadspecifications and how to volunteer to type new specifications for the archive. Last but not least, it provides a link to The Diapason Index --some 14,000 entries from the annual reviews that are published each year.

The Osiris Archive is growing daily with submissions from all over the world. The archive is located at the Vienna University of Economics and is part of the Earlym-L archives (a sister list to Piporg-L).  As hoped, it contains not only organ specifications, but playing impressions, recording discography and builders' notes. This material is kept in a free form database and is listed by organ builder, site, city, country and date of construction.

The Diapason Index

http://osiris.wu-wien.ac.at/ftp/pub/earlym-l/organs/diapason.index

The Diapason Index may now be searched online from the Osiris Archive web page, or may be downloaded into your own word processor. These files are "comma delimited text files" and may be imported into your favorite database program, such as Dbase or FoxPro.  Downloading the file takes a bit of time --usually about 20 minutes if you have a fast modem.

Organ CDs

http://albany.edu/~piporg-l/organcds.@cd-conn

This spring, Ben Chi, co-owner of Piporg-L, posted an announcement that he had downloaded the organ catalog of The CD Connection, a well known catalog order firm. He culled out some 1,500 organ CDs and saved them on Piporg-L. To download this CD list by email, send this message to

[email protected]:

get organcds.@cd-conn

Be prepared for a moderate length download. This is a 27 page text file. Once you have loaded this file into your word processor, you may search for title, composer and artist, using your own word processor's "search" command. Prices of the organ CDs in this catalog are reported to be very competitive.

The World of the Organ on the Internet

James B. Hartman

James B. Hartman is Associate Professor, Continuing Education Division, The University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, where he is Senior Academic Editor for publications of the Distance Education Program. He is a frequent contributor of book reviews and articles to The Diapason.

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Organ enthusiasts who wish to learn about organs far outside their immediate vicinity have at their disposal a number of search engines to survey the Internet, such as Alta Vista, Google, InfoSeek, Lycos, WebCrawler, and Yahoo; however, these are neither easy nor efficient for this purpose. A particularly effective source is offered by the Dutch magazine, het ORGEL (the ORGAN), a publication of Koninklijke Nederlandse Organistenvereniging (KNOV, i.e., Royal Dutch Organists Association); this is Europe’s oldest magazine on organ art: <www.hetorgel.nl&gt;.

The organ links of het ORGEL are in three categories: Countries, Related Instruments (Carillons, Barrel Organs, Harmoniums, Theater Organs, Harpsichords), and General Information (General, Composers, Liturgies, Music Software, Organists Societies, Organ Music).

There are links to organ sites in 65 countries throughout the world: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Moldavia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Ukraine, Uruguay, U.S.A., and Zambia.

The relevant information in each country is classified under six headings: General, Organ Builders, Persons, Churches and Concert Rooms, Conservatories/Music Schools/Universities, and CDs/Books. The form of the entries in the different countries remains largely the same throughout but with local content appropriate to the particular country. Many sites include photographs of organ pipe façades and consoles.

An overview of the Web sites of several selected countries follows (some locations have more than one Web site).

U.S.A. The General category, with 147 entries, includes the Web sites of the chapters of the American Guild of Organists, along with a listing of other miscellaneous organizations, societies, topics, and publishers (including The Diapason). It also contains a Web site devoted to the largest pipe organs in the world, but this matter is not easily resolved due to some debatable technical distinctions.1

In the Organ Builders category there are 175 Web sites, including those of such well-known manufacturers as Aeolian-Skinner, Fisk, Holtkamp, Keates-Geisler, Möller, Reuter, Schlicker, and Wicks.

Under Persons the 187 Web sites include familiar names of many organists and concert artists: E. Power Biggs (1906-1977)2, Virgil Fox (1912-1980)3, Edwin H. Lemare (1865-1934)4, Rosalyn Tureck (1914-2003)5, and others. A typical site in this category includes a biography, a résumé, church appointments, compositions, repertoire, concerts, tours, recordings, a discography, testimonials, reviews, writings, links to related sources, and sometimes audio clips.

The Churches and Concert Rooms category consists of an alphabetical list of 614 locations throughout the country. New York City has 23 sites, including Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, as well as Riverside, St. John the Divine, and St. Thomas churches, among many others.

There are 94 Universities and Music Schools, including Indiana University School of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Peabody Conservatory, and schools at many state universities.

In the CDs and Notes category there are 98 Web sites of music publishers, bookstores, catalogs, record companies, and music societies.

A small category, Music Programs, consists of nine sites, including a software distributor and other sources.

Canada. The General category, with 33 entries, consists of the Web sites of 13 local chapters of the Royal Canadian College of Organists, two branches of the Royal School of Church Music, and the sites of other organizations, societies, publishers, festivals, and miscellaneous topics. A particularly ambitious Web site, Organs of the United States and Canada Database, is intended to provide a single, consistent, accessible, historical source of the organs constructed or installed in the United States and Canada since the arrival of the first imported instrument in the colonies; this listing of about 90,000 instruments and 1,800 builders is accessible only by inquiry to the site originator in Seattle, Washington.

In the Organ Builders category there are 26 sites, including Canada’s leading builder, Casavant (three sites), along with other prominent firms like Guilbault-Thérien, Keates-Geissler, Létourneau, Wilhelm, and Wolff.

Under Persons 29 organists have Web sites; there is a historic entry for the Lynnwood Farnam (1885-1930) Society. A separate listing of Organists in Québec is also provided.

The Churches and Music Rooms category includes information on 70 locations in major cities across the country. A relatively new organ is the Davis Concert Organ, four manuals, 96 stops, in the Francis Winspear Music Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, installed in 2002 by Orgues Létourneau, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec.

In the category of Universities/Music Schools six are identified, all in eastern provinces.

Under CDs and Books there are seven publishers or distributors.

England. The General category, with 58 entries, includes the Web sites of organizations such as the Guild of Church Musicians, Royal College of Organists, Royal Society of British Organists, along with associations and societies in various cities, and other specialized organizations. Several magazines or other publications devoted to the organ or organists are also listed here.

In the Organ Builders category there are 39 names, including the Incorporated Society of Organ Builders, Harrison & Harrison, N. P. Mander, and Henry Willis & Sons.

Under Persons 68 organists are listed, including such notable players as David Briggs, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Christopher Herrick, John Stainer (1840-1901), Gillian Weir, Carol Williams, and Arthur Wills.

The Churches and Concert Rooms category consists of 290 locations in major centers throughout the country, some in universities such as Cambridge, and others in cathedrals such as Coventry, Durham, Exeter, Gloucester, Leicester, and Liverpool. Royal Festival Hall, St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, and Westminster Abbey are also found here.

In the category of Music Schools there are 12 sites, including the Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, Royal School of Church Music, and similar academies connected with educational institutions.

Under CDs and Books there are 43 Web sites of music publishers, bookstores, catalogs, record companies, and music societies.

France. The General category, with 79 entries, includes the Web sites of associations and societies--”Les Amis de l’Orgue”--in various cities, reports of organ festivals and seminars, and miscellaneous topics, such as French Organ Music and pages devoted to organ magazines.

In the Organ Builders category there are 49 sites, a few with historical significance: Jean-André [Johann-Andreas] Silbermann (1678-1734), Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (1811-99), and Dom Bédos de Celles, L’Art du Facteur d’Orgues, in addition to present-day firms and the comprehensive Groupement Professionnel des Facteurs d’Orgues.

Under Persons 48 names are listed, including such familiar figures as Pierre Cochereau (1924-1984), Jean Guillou, Naji Hakim, Jean Langlais (1907-1991), André Marchal, Daniel Roth, and René Saorgin; there is a separate site for Parisian Organists that lists the organists who served at churches in Paris from the 13th to the 21st centuries.

The Churches category covers 414 establishments in the major cities. Paris includes Notre Dame, Sacré-Coeur, St. Eustache, St. Sulpice, St. Clotilde, St. Gervais, and Madeleine, all familiar on account of their associations with famous organists of the past; there is a separate site for organs of Paris. In the category of Schools, there are only three, led by the Conservatoire de Paris.

Under CDs, Books, and Sheet Music, there are 25 Web sites of music publishers, suppliers of music publications, and record companies.

 

Germany. In the Organ Builders category there are 234 names, some of which may be familiar to North Americans: von Beckerath, Gabler (1700-1771), Glatter-Götz, Klais, Laukhuff, Schnitger, Silbermann, and Walcker. Here, as in some other countries, there is a comprehensive Web site devoted to organ building; a number of entries are related to historic builders of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Entries in other categories--General, Persons, Churches, Conservatories, CDs and Books--are appropriate to Germany.

Australia. The General category has 10 Web sites that include several societies, including a branch of the Royal School of Church Music, England.

There are only two Organ Builders in the country; both are small firms that construct small organs and provide restoration and maintenance services.

In the Churches/Concert Halls category there are 51 Web sites. These reveal that several town halls have organs: Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. The activity of external makers is evident in the case of Melbourne, where the five-manual Hill, Norman & Beard instrument, acquired in 1929, was rebuilt by Schantz, U.S.A., commencing in 1999. A special Web site, Second Wind, reports that elegant furniture was made from timbers taken from the Melbourne Town Hall organ when it was renovated in 2001. A monastery library in Arcadia also has an English organ by T. Atterton: two manuals, 11 stops, 1893, later restored in Melbourne.

In the Schools category there are six sites, one for the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the others connected with the music faculties of the major universities.

South Africa. The General category has five Web sites, including one of the Johannesburg Organ Society, which promotes all aspects of the organ, including recitals, workshops, concerts, and visits to significant instruments.

There are only two firms listed in the Organ Builders category, specializing chiefly in the restoration, rebuilding, and maintenance of existing instruments.

In the Churches category there are eight entries. One of these, St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town, has an organ that originally was in St. Margaret’s Church in London, England (next to Westminster Abbey). In 1909 a later four-manual, 61-stop organ was donated to St. George’s by a London businessman who had connections in South Africa. The largest organ in the country is in Feather Market Hall, Port Elizabeth, with 5,508 pipes.

The two Universities/Music Schools are University of South Africa, and University of Cape Town where the Baxter Concert Hall has a three-manual, 49-stop von Beckerath instrument, inaugurated in September 1977 (von Beckerath died on 20 November 1976 before the installation was completed).

This survey will conclude with a few miscellaneous items concerning organs in several selected countries.

In Denmark the Frobenius firm has completed slightly more than 1,000 organs since it was founded in 1909; of these, five are in England, two in U.S.A., and five in Japan.

Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, has one organ in the Hong Kong Cultural Center.

In Ireland the Pipe Organ Site, in addition to providing information on organists, organ specifications, organ builders, and recordings, contains a section on organ jokes.6  

The Isle of Man Organists Association held an Organ Festival in 2002 that included recitals by Gillian Weir and others, workshops, and a gala dinner (£12 including wine!).

The independent state of Malta, consisting of three islands south of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, has seven organ builders and restorers; a recent project was the restoration of the ‘Platania’ organ, originally built in Sicily in 1726.

In The Netherlands two famous organ builders are found among the 42 firms listed: Schnitger (1648-1719) and Flentrop (since 1903). Stinkens, organ pipe makers (since 1914), is also active there.

The Philippines has two old organs, two organ builders, and two churches; it recently held its 29th International Bamboo Organ Festival.

In Zambia, an independent country (formerly called Northern Rhodesia) in east central Africa, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Lusaka has a two-manual, 25-stop organ (builder not identified). In addition to containing information on the organ, the church’s Web page contains sermons, anniversaries, church news, prayer requests, and other information of interest to the parishioners.

The immense amount of organ information contained in the worldwide Web sites defies even a summary description. Given the diversity of languages among the different countries, not all of this information is easily available to English-only readers for that reason, although some sites provide an English version in addition to the language of the country of origin. On the other hand, it is possible to recognize the stop names of organs in most cases on account of their widespread similarity throughout the world. The curious reader can only speculate on the vast number of organs in these countries that do not have Web sites! Visiting the various Web sites, with their colorful and attractive home pages, also provides aesthetic experiences of diverse organ designs. The reader will discover that some Web sites are unavailable or have moved; many are church pages, where the organ is included but is secondary in importance.

KNOV’s assembly of Web sites provides a valuable cultural resource that will be useful for a variety of purposes: recreational exploration of the world of the organ on the Internet, comparative research on organ specifications and the historical backgrounds of the instruments, and perhaps for planning future journeys to the countries where existing organs can be found, inspected, and perhaps played.              

Portrait of composer Frank Ferko and his Hildegard works

by Marcia Van Oyen

Marcia Van Oyen earned both master’s and doctoral degrees in organ and church music at the University of Michigan, where she studied organ with Robert Glasgow. Marcia currently serves as Director of Music and Organist at Glenview Community Church and is Dean of the North Shore AGO Chapter. She also writes reviews of organ music and books for The Diapason.

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“Frank Ferko inhabits a unique and unusual musical world.  In the background is his love of the music of Olivier Messiaen. In the foreground appears mystery, and thus his intense interest in the visions of Hildegard, her music, and the world of medieval chant. None of this is unique or unusual in the decade of the 1990s, but his vivid musical imagination, sometimes terrifying, in other instances timelessly static and meditative, is unique.”1

The preceding quotation offers a microcosmic portrait of Frank Ferko as a composer. Elements of his compositions have evoked comparisons to Poulenc, Messiaen, James MacMillan, and Arvo Pärt, yet Ferko’s style defies neat categorization.  His coloristic approach, especially in his organ works, links him with the French.  His bent towards ethereal sounds and other-worldly texts allies him with the current phenomenon of “CD spirituality,” as evidenced by the popularity of Gregorian chant recordings and the music of Pärt and Tavener.2 The portrayal of programmatic themes, especially those of a symbolic and spiritual nature, looms large on his agenda. On the other hand, he is very aware of the need for practical liturgical music, and bears that in mind when writing sacred compositions.

The catalog of Ferko’s works includes choral anthems on liturgical, chant, and hymn texts; settings of poems by symbolist writers Rimbaud and Mallarmé; hymn preludes and programmatic works for organ; a symbolist one-act opera and a sprinkling of compositions for various solo instruments and ensembles, including an intriguingly titled piece for horn, clarinet and piano, “The North Side of Heaven (Near the Rotunda).”  He has been commissioned to write works for Valparaiso University, His Majestie’s Clerkes, and the Dale Warland Singers, as well as many churches. He has been the recipient of annual ASCAP grants since 1987 among other grants, and has won awards for his compositions, including the 1989–90 Holtkamp/AGO award for “A Practical Program for Monks,” a song cycle for tenor and organ.

Although Ferko now spends most of his time composing, he has twenty-five years of experience as a church musician, most recently serving as director of music at the Church of St. Paul and the Redeemer in Chicago, and continues to perform as an organist. Ferko received his Bachelor of Music degree in piano and organ performance from Valparaiso University. He received the Master of Music degree in music theory with a minor in organ performance from Syracuse University and holds a doctorate in music composition from Northwestern University, where he studied with Alan Stout. His teachers have included Richard Wienhorst (composition) and Philip Gehring (organ) at Valparaiso, and Howard Boatwright (theory) and Will O. Headlee (organ) at Syracuse University. This traditional foundation, an openness to diverse influences, and a willingness to experiment combine to create Ferko’s unique style.

I spoke with Frank Ferko about his compositional style and two of his most recent works, the Hildegard Organ Cycle and the Hildegard Motets.  Excerpts from that interview follow.

When did you start composing?

I got started dabbling in composition as a teenage church musician at a little country church in Ohio. I started playing organ at fourteen, directing the choir at sixteen, and began exploring different kinds of church music, especially new music. My earliest compositions were take-offs on Richard Wienhorst’s works. I later studied composition with him at Valparaiso. He guided me into writing my own modes and writing pieces using those modes. Wienhorst encouraged me to explore Bartok (who wrote his own modes) and that eventually led to study of the music of Messiaen.

I also studied sixteenth-century counterpoint with Wienhorst. As a final project, we had the option of writing a 5-voice motet or taking the principles of sixteenth-century counterpoint we had learned and writing a modern work. I opted for the latter, and I’ve been building on that ever since, taking ideas from early music and working them into a modern context.

Have you always had a strong interest in new music?

I have been very interested in new music. While in the doctoral program at Northwestern, I was encouraged to stay in touch with what living composers were doing. But being a church musician, I’ve also been very interested in chant, so there are these two polar ends of things—the very early music and current music—that fascinate me.

Besides Messiaen, what other composers do you look to for inspiration?

Many different eras have influenced me. I’ve played Bach, and Bach’s counterpoint has been a very strong influence. Having a strong piano background, I’ve played Chopin and Brahms. These large sounds and rich harmonies have always stuck in my mind, but I’ve veered more towards the French as time has gone on. What I like to listen to most are French pieces from the twentieth century. Some people say there are elements of Poulenc in my sound, and of Messiaen from time to time. The Messiaen influence is strong because my master’s thesis was an analysis of his piano cycle, “Vingt regards sur l’enfant Jésus.” I studied his compositional techniques very thoroughly. There are techniques that he invented, explored up to a certain point, and stopped. Why not take those further and do something else? Or take a particular technique and combine it with minimalism and see what happens? I like many of the early works of Philip Glass and I don’t mind exploring that territory. I pull ideas from all over the place.

What do you have in common with composers like Arvo Pärt and John Tavener?

I feel a common bond in terms of the philosophical approach, the way I’m approaching writing music. Arvo Pärt very definitely is an intensely religious person. John Tavener also. In that respect, I’m approaching the writing of pieces in the way that they are.  We all use common modality in our writing, and there are certain ways that we form melodic lines that may be similar, but we’re putting things together in different ways.

I hear some similarity with Tavener in the way you approach writing for voices.

I know what you mean.  I think this has to do with the fact that we have learned how to write for the human voice. Many composers have learned instrumental writing and try vocal writing and don’t understand the voice. You have to understand the limitations.  You have to be very careful how you set text, especially vowels. That comes from studying early music and counterpoint—examples of glorious music for the voice. In that sense, there’s a certain similarity between Pärt, Tavener, James Macmillan and myself in the use of the materials. We all write well for voices.

As I’ve listened to your music, I’ve noticed that acoustics seem to a play a key role. Are live acoustics required for a true performance of your works?

I like live acoustical settings, the reverberance. This goes back to my love for chant and how a single line can spin and create other sounds. I can take a single line, a choral sound or an organ sound and create some interesting ear perceptions with the acoustics. The reverberance needs to be there. I’ve played the organ cycle successfully in relatively dead rooms, but there’s a whole dimension that’s missing. For example, the first movement of the organ cycle has a water drop idea, intended to reverberate through the room. It’s written at a very slow tempo to allow that to happen.

Do you have a special affinity for writing for the organ? What is there about it that works especially well for your music?

One of the reasons I’ve written so much for the organ is because it is my instrument and I like writing things that I can play, though I don’t write with myself as performer in mind. I understand it, and I’m very well aware that there aren’t that many composers today who feel comfortable writing for the organ. I enjoy it, so I’ll write pieces for the organ. With the organ, if I’m unsure about something I’ve written, I can sit down and try it out.

The musical ideas presented in the Hildegard Organ Cycle could best be presented successfully on the organ. The colors of the instrument and the acoustical setting in which organs are often found make it possible to express certain ideas in a way that cannot occur in other situations. The organ works are usually tailor-made with the tonal colors of the organ in mind. The approach I use in incorporating specific colors into my organ works allies me closely with the French composers who have always been colorists.

Do you think you almost have to be an organist to write music for the organ?

I tend to think so, although there are some people out there who are not organists and yet have written some very fine music for the organ. I’ve tried to get composers I know to write for the organ. They’re a little interested and they think the various colors and stop names are interesting, but it’s complicated for them. How do you deal with all these keyboards and these pedals? The thing that’s usually the biggest stumbling block is the registration—they don’t know what to suggest.  Some composers leave it up to the player. I object to that. I think it really is the composer’s responsibility to inform the performer as to what tone colors to use, because there’s so much choice involved there. Particularly when writing interesting harmonies, chromatic lines, and dense textures, I think it behooves the composer to let us know just what kind of color he wants. A composer wouldn’t write a piece for orchestra and give the conductor a piano score, leaving it up to him to decide who’s going to play what.  It’s not the conductor’s job to do that. An organ composer has to be the orchestrator. Composers usually have colors in mind, but are reluctant to write them down because they’re unfamiliar with stop names and know it’s going to differ from one instrument to another. Poulenc sat down with Duruflé and registered the organ concerto. Composers should sit down with organists and do that. Somebody who does play the organ knows the instrument and its capabilities so well that they can incorporate things that a non-organist wouldn’t do. But the same thing happens with writing for other instruments. A player can write more intimately for an instrument than a non-player.

You also perform as an organist, playing your own works.  What else do you perform?

On an upcoming recital, I’m doing one movement from the Hildegard cycle along with works by Bach, Brahms, Helmut Walcha, and Heinz Werner Zimmerman. Mostly Germans because it’s a germanic organ. Yes, I play other people’s music—especially when a church organist. I still improvise, that’s one thing I’ve always done—postludes—that’s kind of fun.

I studied improvisation with Philip Gehring, and he improvises all the time. He always said you can’t really teach it, but every Sunday in chapel services we heard him doing it. It was the best example. His postludes were always improvisations on the last hymn. When I became an active organist, I started doing the same thing. The early ones I did I’m sure were just horrors, but you just keep doing it and you learn. I would hear something I thought was interesting and I would work that into a Sunday morning improvisation and just see where it would lead, combining the idea with a hymn tune, which I always used as the basis. It was a good way to pick up ideas I was hearing and develop them into my own compositional style.

Was the organ cycle composed through improvisation or sitting down and writing?

Some of it came from improvisation, some from just sitting down and writing. Actually, the tenth movement, the terrifying one, did begin as a postlude for a church service. I started the postlude with the repeated chord figure with big gaps between the chords. Heads went up. It was a gripping effect. I remembered that later and thought it would be a good way to end this organ cycle.

The music and writings of Hildegard von Bingen are currently receiving attention. 1998 is also the 900th anniversary of her birth. What prompted you to write music based on her writings?

I wrote most of the organ cycle back in 1990, before Hildegard became a big cult thing. I wanted to do something that would make people aware of who this woman was, what she did, and what she experienced.

What led you to choose Hildegard’s “Visions” as the basis for your works?

In the late 80s, my church choir in Hyde Park did a concert every spring.  There were a couple of women in the choir who were vocal feminists, and they said, “We never sing any music written by women composers.” I started exploring, finding music written by women composers. I had discovered the name Hildegard in the early 80s. In putting together this concert, I started researching her music and transcribed chant melodies into modern notation. The choir was fascinated. I found other women composers from the sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We did an evensong and concert in which all the music was written by women. That got me looking into Hildegard, and I wanted to find out more. I did more research and looked at her last book,  “De Operatione Dei,” which includes the ten visions. I had been wanting to write a large work for organ, and later that year I decided to write an organ cycle based on the ten visions.

You've written a detailed preface, a “guidebook” if you will, which provides information as to what’s being portrayed in each of the movements of the organ cycle. Without this guidebook, what can an average listener discern?

Most of the music I write is written on at least three levels—there’s the surface level, where anybody can just walk in and they will hear something they can appreciate. It will wash over them and they’ll either like it or hate it. They’ll form an opinion right away, but they’re really not appreciating what’s in the music.

The second level at which I write is an assocation with technical devices, for example writing numbers rhythmically or pitch-wise into a piece of music. There are other numerical phenomena which have also found their way into my music such as the Fibonacci series and certain kinds of numerical proportions such as 2:1, 3:2, or 4:3—proportions that were used for tuning in the medieval period.

The third level is extra-musical assocations—the programmatic elements. The whole organ cycle is program music: specific depictions of ideas that Hildegard presented in her descriptions of her visions. Most people haven’t read the “Visions,” which is why I wrote the “guidebook.” I thought I should condense some of these ideas into a concise format and provide the information for people so they have some idea of what the basic program is.

What are the most effective means for communicating ideas through music?  Without knowing the program, what images in the organ cycle can a listener recognize?

There are certain obvious techniques that can be built into the music. The water drops [in the first movement] come across pretty clearly. The fifth movement with the repeated clusters has a tendency to sound like somebody’s angry, and Hildegard was. She was talking about the anger and judgment of God. I wanted to show that anger. Writing great big clusters that are very dissonant and shaking away with full organ is a way of doing that. Another technique is to present thematic material in an obvious way, such as an unaccompanied single line melody, repeated. Repetition is an important way to impress a musical idea on people. In the organ cycle there’s one chant melody that comes back throughout the cycle—and people remember that. They recognize it in different guises and are aware of it

What was the impetus for composing the Hildegard Motets? How were the texts selected?

The fifth one was the first one to be written, and that came about purely as an experiment. I was in a group, now defunct, called Chicago Composers Consortium, and we did three concerts a year at the Three Arts Club. In 1991, His Majesties Clerkes had done the first Chicago performance of Arvo Pärt’s “Passio,” at Orchestra Hall. One of the people in the consortium had heard the concert, raving about the Clerkes’ performance of the Pärt. We decided to do a whole concert of choral music and hire His Majesties Clerkes to perform seven new works. Since I had been working on the Hildegard Organ Cycle, I had also looked at some of her poems in the back of the book which contains the visions. I bought a critical edition of the poems and found them amazing. I wanted to write a substantial piece for the Consortium program, so I was looking for a longer text. The Holy Spirit text, a sequence hymn, seemed like a good choice. I knew what the Clerkes were capable of, and figured they could do just about anything. I wanted to take advantage of that and wrote a fairly challenging piece. They really liked it and asked to keep the copies of the piece to perform again in their regular season. That was in the fall of ’91. In February ’92, I decided I wanted to write a whole cycle on these texts because they’re so vivid, intense, and wonderful. I decided on the number nine as a mystical number, then chose the texts. The Clerkes were celebrating their tenth anniversary, and decided to commission the set of works for their final concert in 1993. The texts were selected with liturgical use somewhat in mind, variety in terms of the language Hildegard used and variety of lengths—some long and some short. I wanted some continuity and some contrast.

Are the Hildegard works liturgical music or concert music?

The Hildegard pieces were originally intended to be concert works I knew when I wrote them that people—particularly church organists with the proper instrument, acoustics and a good choir—would probably want to use these pieces in the liturgical setting. Many of the pieces in the organ cycle are fairly quiet and not terribly long. They could work as prelude music. The first movement could be used with a baptism, with the water symbolism. There’s an implication of Advent in the seventh movement, the slow, lush movement with the long melody in the celeste chords. Even though the motet cycle was written as a concert cycle for His Majestie’s Clerkes, I thought people might want to use the individual movements in church settings, so I found texts of Hildegard that had assocations with liturgical settings and outlined that in the preface notes. These pieces have crossover quality—they can work in concert or in a church setting.

Widor once said “To play the organ properly, you need to have a vision of eternity.” Does that statement apply to performing your Hildegard works?

Yes, I think there’s truth to that statement. There’s a certain amount of that with the Hildegard pieces. Performers will have a much better understanding and be able to bring out what’s in the music much better if they have the textual associations, the implied ones in the organ cycle or the expressed ones in the motets, if they know where Hildegard was coming from, they have a good translation to work from, and they understand the texts. The performance will be much, much better. Many little musical points are strongly associated with the texts.

Some people have used the term “organist-theologian” to describe composers such as Widor, Tournemire, and especially Messiaen. Do you identify with that role, being an organist and composer yourself?

To a certain degree, yes. I think I’m creating similar kinds of things, at least with the Hildegard pieces. When I perform those works, I know exactly what is going on there because I’ve read all the visions and commentary of Hildegard. Reading them was a very intense, moving experience. It  moved me to write the organ cycle. I wanted to put the theology into music. I want people to know about what I felt from reading the texts when they perform or hear this music.

I was intrigued by the statement in the liner notes of the Hildegard recordings, “Frank Ferko inhabits a unique musical world . . .” (quoted at the beginning of  this article). What is your response to that?

I was flattered. The remark addresses the organ cycle specifically. When I was practicing in preparation for recording it, the producer came up to the organ loft and said, “I want to hear the last movement on this instrument. This is the most terrifying thing I’ve ever heard. I want you to use as much organ as you can, a lot of reeds.” I agreed, that’s what the movement really needs. That last movement is terrifying, and yet there are other movements that are gentler that take you off into some ethereal land somewhere. I think that he was thinking of all the different moods that are created in that work and how different they are when you stop and think about them from beginning to end.

Every now and then I do pull in, into my own little world when I’m writing. There are a number of people who’ve taken an interest in my writing and they’ll ask me if I’ve heard the latest recording of James MacMillan because they find a similarity between his style and mine. I tell them I can’t listen to that for a few months because I’m working on something of my own. I have to completely pull myself away from other things and just immerse myself into my own little world while I’m writing. I don’t want to listen to anybody else’s music while I’m doing that. There is a little bit of reclusiveness that’s implied in that statement, but not to an excessive degree. I try to be sociable.

Would you describe your music as mystical?

There is definitely an ethereal quality that I try for. “Mystical” carries with it some other connotations, and I suppose that the things that I’ve written have a certain amount of that because of the text associations, especially Hildegard’s texts. There is mysticism involved in it, but generally, I’m coming at the music from a technical viewpoint. I’m trying to create a certain mood.

I noticed several settings of poetry by Mallarmé and Rimbaud in your list of works.  Is their poetry of particular interest to you?

I like symbolism, and Mallarmé is very symbolistic. Rimbaud wrote very colorful poetry. The symbolist poems are particularly interesting to me.

You seem to have a strong preference for ineffable ideas and symbolic texts.

I’ve always been fascinated by that kind of thing—the intangible things that we perceive in some way, either through an association or imagination. When we are thinking of intangible things, such as God, angels, saints, good, evil, love, and so on, I think it is natural for us to try to represent these intangibles in some tangible way. That’s why we have church buildings, stained glass, religious paintings, statuary, and religious drama. These are ways in which artists have tried to represent things which are in a way abstract. Music is perhaps the best way to express or represent abstract ideas. Music has the capability of expressing things that words or pictures just cannot accomplish. By connecting music with symbols it is possible to create a very powerful form of expression. Is there such a thing as a symbolist musician? Maybe that’s what I am.

Frank Ferko’s compositional style is woven from diverse threads: ancient mystical texts and medieval compositional techniques, minimalism and Messiaen, ineffable mysteries and concrete images, the highly complex and the startlingly simple. The result is a musical tapestry of exceptional depth and beauty, a vibrantly spiritual contribution to the musical palette of both concert hall and sanctuary.

Musical examples are reprinted by permission of E. C. Schirmer Music.

For more information about Frank Ferko and his music, visit his web-site: 

http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~dahling/biography.html

Notes

                        1.                  The Hildegard Organ Cycle, Arsis CD 101, a statement made by producer Robert Schuneman in the liner notes of the recording.

                         2.                Patrick Russill, “Cantos Sagrados: Patrick Russill reflects on the holy songs of James MacMillan,” The Musical Times 1837 (March 1996): 35–37.

                        3.                  Philip Greenfield, “Review of The Hildegard Motets” The American Record Guide  6 (Nov./Dec. 1996):  p. 122.

Carillon News

Brian Swager
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News from Bok Tower

The Historic Bok Sanctuary in Lake Wales, Florida, announces its 18th International Carillon Festival, 8-16 February 2003, featuring guest carillonneurs Boudewijn Zwart (The Netherlands), Eddy Mariën (Belgium), John Gouwens (Culver Military Academies, Culver, Indiana), Dennis Curry (The Kirk in the Hills, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan), and resident carillonneurs Milford Myhre and William De Turk. Events will include daily recitals at 3:00 pm, a moonlight recital at 8:00 pm on Friday 14 February, carillon and art exhibits, and non-carillon concerts.

Until recently, the sanctuary was known as Bok Tower Gardens. Originally it was known as The Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Singing Tower, and the new official name is Historic Bok Sanctuary. An explanation follows:

Nearly 75 years ago, Edward W. Bok gave this incredible gift for the visitation of the American people. Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Singing Tower drew the praise of President Calvin Coolidge and the interest of the nation as it assumed the prestigious position as one of Florida's original tourism destinations. It has welcomed more than 23 million American and international visitors since its dedication in 1929.

In recent years, however, visitation has declined. The state's tourism industry has grown and changed, and the marketing of it has become more sophisticated. Research indicated that Bok Tower Gardens was not particularly well-known or well-understood by Florida residents or out-of-state visitors. However, the overwhelming majority of visitors were very satisfied following their visit and felt the integrity and quality of Bok Tower Gardens has remained impeccable for nearly 75 years.

A market evaluation process helped the sanctuary look at the value of its offerings and what relevance they have in today's world. Through various stages of research and analysis, they came to realize that Bok Tower Gardens provided its visitors with different types and levels of "personal enrichment." Visitors identified its "genuine qualities" as what they viewed as most valuable, especially in an increasingly fast-paced and artificial world, and they embraced the values and integrity of Bok and his gift. Many expressed an interest in learning more about Mr. Bok and the unique role he played in American history.

From the research of Visit Florida, the Tourism Industry of America, and other experts, they realized that they best fit the definition of Cultural Tourism and found it encouraging to learn that an increasing number of people are seeking the type of experiences that they offer--enriching experiences that elevate both mind and spirit. Baby boomers report a particular interest in heritage, cultural and educational experiences, and 85% of Florida's out-of-state visitors engage in some type of cultural/heritage activities while in the state. Research also suggests that as the world continues to get more high tech, there is a growing demand for experiences that are rooted in authenticity and integrity.

They feel that the new name, Historic Bok Sanctuary, and positioning provides a better framework of relevance so that people can better understand what it has to offer. The new name actually says who they are: a historic and cultural site, a gift from Edward Bok, and a sanctuary for man and nature.

Along with the new name, the new graphic identity represents the key offerings: Olmsted-designed gardens, a majestic belltower that holds the state's first and finest carillon, and a stunning Mediterranean Revival estate. Also, the positioning line "Florida's Higher Place" reflects the rare quality of this place and how it enriches visitors through a combination of beautifully landscaped gardens, the carillon music,  and historic structures and museum-quality exhibits. It is also appropriate because the tower is 205 feet tall and built on the highest point in peninsular Florida.

Anton Brees Carillon Library

Librarian William De Turk announces that the Anton Brees Carillon Library is now online! It is a part of Librarycom which is a web site for many libraries using LibraryWorld as their database program.

There are 6600+ items cataloged to date. The current search options are: Author, Title, Subject, Keyword. The company is working on adding the complete line of search capabilities, which will include Expert Search (Boolean search capabilities) & Browse the Shelves.

To access the Brees Library, go to <http://Librarycom.com/opac/&gt;

Type in the library name box: Anton Brees Carillon Library

Check: guest

 

Send items for "Carillon News" to Dr. Brian Swager, c/o The Diapason, 380 E. Northwest Hwy., Suite 200, Des Plaines, IL 60016-2282. For information on the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America, write to: GCNA, 37 Noel Dr., Williamsville, NY 14221.

Carillon News

by Brian Swager
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Bok Tower Festival

 

The 16th International Carillon Festival, February 3–11, 2001, will feature guest carillonneurs Stéfano Colletti (France), Liesbeth Janssens (Belgium), John Courter (Berea College, Kentucky), George Matthew Jr. (Middlebury College & Norwich University, Vermont), and Bok Tower Gardens' Milford Myhre and William De Turk. Events will include daily recitals at 3 pm, a moonlight recital at 8 pm on Tuesday, February 6, carillon exhibits, and non-carillon concerts. For further information, contact Bill De Turk, 1151 Tower Blvd., Lake Wales, FL 33853-3412; ph 863/676-1154; fax 863/676-6770; e-mail: <[email protected]>;

web page: <boktowergardens.org>.

Paris carillon project

A new carillon for the city of Paris, France, is in the planning stages. The site is the Parc de La Villette. An architectural study has confirmed the possibility of installing a carillon in a contemporary structure that already exists in the park: la Folie Belvédère. The proposal is for a carillon of 51/2 octaves, 66 bells, from G2 to C8, with a total of 35 tons of bronze. The bells would hang on five levels in a conical cage of open construction without a roof. The performer in the playing cabin will be visible to the public.

Situated in the center of the park, the Folie Belvédère seems an ideal place for the resounding of bells, amidst the Cité des Sciences and the Cité de la Musique. There is ample green space for listening at an appropriate distance.  In contrast to the mystery plays that were enacted on church squares in front of cathedrals and churches in the Middle Ages, the Folie and its carillon envision popular theatrical productions such as circus, street theater, and all sorts of musical and artistic expression.

Major Dutch treat

The National Carillon Museum in Asten, The Netherlands, is expanding its facilities. The tower will be an attractive feature. It goes without saying that a carillon will be hung in the tower. Furthermore, this special tower deserves a special carillon. The choice was made for a carillon with bells that have a major-third overtone instead of the traditional minor third. These sound significantly different than classic bells and carillons. This modern type of carillon seemed to be a logical choice for the hpyermodern tower. Hence, with bells from ca. 1500 B.C. to the most contemporary specimens, the museum's collection will span 3500 years of bell history. The design for these major-third bells was developed a few years ago by Drs. André Lehr and Bert Schoofs (Technical University Eindhoven). This design was used for a carillon made by Eijsbouts for the Academy Tower of the University of Groningen. The Asten carillon will be relatively small, with 25 bells covering two octaves. The largest bell will weigh 236 kg., the smallest 10 kg., total weight 468 kg.

The museum is seeking sponsors to cover the cost of the bells which will be purchased at a significant discount from the Royal Eijsbouts Bellfoundry in Asten. Contact Dr. André Lehr at [email protected] or Ostaderstraat 23, 5721 WC Asten, The Netherlands.

An American in Peer

When a carillon committee was formed in 1989 in the city of Peer, Belgium, there were three tolling bells in the tower of the St. Trudo Church. At that time there were no carillons in the whole province of North Limburg that were playable manually. The 14th-century brick tower of Peer had a huge bellchamber capable of accommodating a heavy carillon. Financial resources were limited such that a choice was made for a medium weight carillon of 51 bells with a bourdon sounding D.

In 1992 the new Petit & Fritsen instrument was dedicated. After the festivities the carillon committee began its quest to expand the instrument as soon as possible to a heavy carillon. The project was completed in 1999 exceeding all expectations. The 17th-century bell frame was restored, the bell chamber got a new oak floor, and the electrical components were updated.

The carillon was completely dismantled and reinstalled, and a deluxe new playing cabin was built. Thirteen new bells were cast. Most significantly, an American standard playing console was chosen over the current European standard. The instrument now boasts 64 bells covering five octaves with a bourdon sounding B-flat. The keyboard compass is B-flat, C, then chromatic through D. Erik Vandevoort is the carillonneur of Peer.

Miscellanea from abroad

 

The Olsen Nauen Bellfoundry in Tønsberg, Norway, made a new four-octave carillon for the Oslo Town Hall in December 1999. The 49 bells replace a 38-bell carillon of inferior quality which dated from 1952. The new instrument can be played manually from a traditional baton-type console, electrically by means of an electric keyboard, and automatically by a computer. It is the largest carillon in all of the Nordic countries.

                  There are 80 carillons in Denmark, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland. Of these, 21 are concert carillons operated manually from a baton-type playing console. The remaining 59 are automatic carillons, and 29 of them can be operated from an electric piano-style keyboard. Most of the carillons were fabricated in The Netherlands (27% Petit & Fritsen, 45% Eijsbouts) with a few from France (7% Paccard) and England (4% Taylor).

Sculptor Eric Andersen created the Campana degli Umori for the Fairy Tale Gardens in Odense, Denmark. A ten-ton bell is suspended on a steel frame at street level. Also hanging on this frame are nine clubs or hammers for striking the bell in nine different areas. Campana degli Umori means "the bell of humors"—humors in the sense of moods. The nine striking areas on the bell are color coded and symbolize different moods such as black for pain and sorrow, red for love, etc. Consequently the bell can be used as a means of expression communicating to others the mood of the person who strikes the bell. Eric Andersen, who is both a visual artist and a composer, is fascinated with the bell as the carrier of a new language, and as a musical and poetical instrument the bell can be the tongue of the soul.

The 25th anniversary of the City Hall carillon in Magdeburg, Germany, was celebrated in 1999. In contrast with other concert performances, the carillon usually has the disadvantage that its players have no immediate contact with their listeners. The carillonneur sits in a  tower cabin, high above the ground, often remaining anonymous. Recognizing this situation, the city of Magdeburg rented a four-octave mobile carillon from the Royal Eijsbouts Bellfoundry in The Netherlands. Several concerts at various locations in the city were presented. Plentiful audiences comprising both locals and tourists witnessed the carillonneur hard at work (at play).

Zvonar ("The Bell Player") is a new periodical published by the Moscow Bell Center. The Center was established about four years ago primarily to train qualified bell players. Russian church bells are typically played by hand. The art of Russian bell ringing lost popularity because of  church reform measures in the Soviet Union. Bell players who were dying out in the 70s had few new recruits. Since it began, the Moscow Bell Center has educated over 150 bell players between the ages of 11 and 64. Most were from Moscow and its environs. The Zvonar newsletter will help spread information about liturgical tolling, bell repairs, and other technical questions while the Center will serve in consultation to church congregations and monasteries.

A new 45-bell carillon was built for the monastery tower in Kiel, Germany. The bells were cast by the Karlsruhe Bellfoundry, and the playing console, the mechanical action, and the electronic automatic player mechanism were fabricated by Otto Buer Bells & Clocks of Neustadt/Holstein. The carillon was inaugurated in September 1999. It incorporates a 1367-pound tolling bell (pitch "G") that dates from 1928 as the bourdon.

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