Carillon News

The Joseph Dill Baker Carillon in Frederick, Maryland, has been renovated recently and expanded to 49 bells. The carillon began as the last chime cast by Menneely and Company of Water-vliet, New York, in 1941. The chime of 14 bells was installed in a neo-Gothic tower of reinforced concrete and granite. The tower stands in the middle of Baker Park, a linear, downtown park. The tower is 16 feet square at the base and stands 70 feet.

In 1966, Tony Elderhorst, working for Schulmerich/Eijsbouts, installed a two-octave baton keyboard and nine additional bells in the tower, making the instrument a 23-bell carillon. This addition was made possible by unusual circumstances. An election which was planned in 1965/66 in the City of Frederick was not held, as all contenders for office were running unopposed. The funds budgeted for this election were used to pay for the carillon expansion.

The most recent renovation project has been made possible by a fund raising drive by the Friends of Baker Park, the advocacy organization for the park, and by additional funding from the City of Frederick. The carillon now comprises 49 bells. The 3,384-pound bourdon sounds D and is keyed to Bb1. The keyboard compass is: Bb1, C, D1 C#, chromatic through c3. The 26 new bells were cast by the Petit & Fritsen foundry and installed by the Verdin Company. The Meeks & Watson firm designed the frame and the keyboard. Richard Watson modified the tuning of the existing 23 bells. A used, 1926, 50-note, Taylor practice keyboard was also acquired. The dedication recital was played on September 10 by John Widmann, Frederick City Carillonneur.

The annual Northeastern Regional Carillon Event was held at the newly renovated and expanded Joseph Dill Baker Carillon on Saturday, November 4. In addition to a recital by John Widmann, the host carillonneur, the City of Frederick sponsored a special guest recital featuring Larry Weinstein, president of The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America. All present for the event had an opportunity to play the new instrument. There were lectures and discussions on building a student carillonneur program and on fund raising techniques for carillon programs. Students had the opportunity to play for, and be critiqued by, carillonneur members of the GCNA.

News from Belgium

Jef Denyn's Unwritten Prelude

One of the cornerstones of the Flemish romantic carillon repertory is undoubtedly the Unwritten Prelude by Jef Denyn. It is a work that neither he nor his students put on paper. Improvisatory in character and with opening chords reminiscent of Rachmaninov, this prelude has been handed over from generation to generation, a method not customary in Western culture but of common occurrence in eastern civilizations. Rabindranat Tagore--who was not only a writer and poet, but also a musician--improvised many works that later were taken over by his son and are still taught to this day in his school in Santiniketan.

The Unwritten Prelude was put on paper first by Gaston Feremans to the dismay of Staf Nees who wanted to maintain the "unwritten" tradition. Later the work was published by the Belgian Carillon Guild in a transcription by  Piet  van den Broek and Frans Vos based primarily on a prewar recording published by "His Majesty's Voice."

In spite of the intriguing beauty of this extremely romantic work, with its typical Mechelin-style lyricism, performances of the Unwritten Prelude are relatively infrequent. Many carillonneurs struggle with Denyn's tremolos, rendering disagreeable performances of this prelude. The scores offer no clarity with regard to the interpretation of the tremolos. The performer who has never really heard the prelude remains uncertain and finds it easier to set the piece aside. Playing tremolos well is indeed an art of its own, just as vibrato on the violin. Nevertheless, this style of playing is part of the carillon playing tradition, especially in Flanders, and adds an enchanting dimension that moves many listeners deeply. According to Leentje Denyn, Jef Denyn's granddaughter and a student at the Carillon School, the composer's inspiration for writing this piece was profound. It may have been an "outpouring" around 1904 upon the birth of his first daughter Emma.

This prelude made an undeniable contribution toward Denyn's great success as a carillonneur in the beginning of this century.

Profile: McDonogh School

The McDonogh School is an independent, endowed, non-denominational, college preparatory school for boys and girls. The spacious 775-acre country campus with colonial and contemporary brick buildings lies to the northwest of Baltimore, Maryland. Established in 1873, John McDonogh had provided for this school for promising boys who would not otherwise have been able to obtain an education. Paying students were admitted for the first time in 1922, and in 1975 the school became coeducational.

The McDonogh Carillon was given by Mr. H. Beale Rollins (class of 1915) and his wife in 1978. The 48 bells were cast by the Petit and Fritsen Bellfoundry of Aarle-Rixtel, The Netherlands. The bourdon weighs 3,300 pounds, sounds D, and is connected to C on the keyboard. The carillon hangs in the tower of the Tagart Memorial Chapel. A chime of ten bells, crafted at Baltimore's McShane Bellfoundry for the new chapel in 1898, was in use until 1978.

William S. Lyon-Vaiden has been the McDonogh Carillonneur since the instrument's installation. A special series of summer recitals on Friday evenings at 7:00 during July and August features guest recitalists from the U.S. and abroad.

Profile: Holland, Pennsylvania

Trinity United Church of Christ in Holland, Pennsylvania--near Philadelphia--is home to a unique carillon installation. The first 25 bells for the Schneider Memorial Carillon were a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Schneider. Cast in 1929 by the Meneely Bell Foundry in Watervliet, New York, the original two-octave instrument was dedicated by Melvin Corbett in 1930. It was one of few American-made carillons. A third octave was realized in 1954/55 with the addition of twelve Petit & Fritsen bells. In September 1968, the carillon was removed from the tower at Broad and Venango Streets in Philadelphia and taken to the Verdin Company in Cincinnati for storage and renewal of some of the mechanism. Upon completion of the new church building, it was installed at its present location in 1970. On the occasion of the nation's Bicentennial, twelve more Petit & Fritsen bells completed the fourth octave. The 3000-pound bourdon sounds E-flat and is keyed to C, hence the instrument transposes up a minor third. In contrast with most tower installations, the playing cabin of the Schneider carillon is on ground level, and the bells hang from an open steel frame that sits atop the cabin.

Lisa Lonie, carillonneur of Trinity Church, plays for regular church services. A special series of summer recitals on Thursday evenings at 7:30 during July and August features Lonie, other Philadelphia-area carillonneurs, and guest recitalists from the U.S. and abroad.

Profile: Roeselare, Belgium

Each of the 13 stories of St. Michael's Church in Roeselare, Belgium, has a story to tell. Rebuilt following a fire that leveled the city in 1488, the Sint-Michielskerk lost its 300-foot spire to a storm in 1735, and the current campanile was erected in the middle of the 18th century. Four swinging bells hang in the attic from a large frame that supports their total weight of seven tons. A mechanical tower clock from the city hall is preserved in the tower of St. Michael's. Tourists can read a series of didactic texts on the walls that chronicle the history of several centuries of bell ringing traditions in this old Flemish city. In fact, the Roeselare bell ringers guild claims that theirs is the only place in Flanders where the tradition of tolling bells manually is preserved.

During the 19th century, the Roeselare carillon was composed of a hodgepodge of 38 bells that were played by a pneumatic system from an ivory type keyboard devised by the Ghent organbuilder Lovaert. The bells were played by the church organist until the system fell into an unplayable state of disrepair. In 1893 a new carillon was cast by Severinus van Aerschodt of Louvain and connected to a Mechelen/Denyn-standard console fabricated by Desiré Somers. In 1917, during the first World War, these bells were plundered by the Germans. Marcel Michiels of Doornik cast 35 bells (bourdon of 1,332 pounds) for Roeselare  in 1921. The bells were recast in Doornik in 1939 and returned to the tower. The bourdon had grown to 1,378 pounds. Twelve Eijsbouts bells were added in 1988, and in 1992 the old bells were returned, a new bass bell was added, and a new playing console was installed. The lightweight instrument now comprises 49 bells from a 1,962-pound bourdon which sounds F and is keyed to B-flat; hence the instrument transposes up a fifth. Koen Cosaert is municipal carillonneur of Roeselare, Izegem, and Harelbeke, an organist in Kortrijk, and an instructor at the Royal Belgian Carillon School in Mechelen. The carillon is played every Tuesday morning and every other Saturday at noon. A special series of evening recitals is organized each year from June through September. Guided tours of the tower are available from June through September; phone (051)207-843 for group reservations.

Carillon composition competition

The fifth international Queen Fabiola Carillon Competition will take place in 2003 in Mechelen, Belgium. It is the most prestigious performance competition for carillonneurs. To complement this event, the Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" in Mechelen, in conjunction with the city of Mechelen and with the support of local carillon associations, has organized a composition competition. The winning score will be performed by the finalists in the 2003 Queen Fabiola Competition.

The composition should last about five minutes and should be adapted to the carillon of the St. Rombout's tower in Mechelen, which comprises 49 bells. The instrument transposes down a fourth. (C on the keyboard sounds G.)  The keyboard compass is B-flat, C, D, E-flat, then chromatic to C.

The jury will be asked to focus on:

* Suitability: Is the composition suitable for carillon and can it be played by an experienced carillonneur?

* Originality: How inventive is the piece?

* General musicality: Does the composition appeal to the general music lover?

The winning score, which will be the obligatory work for the Queen Fabiola Competition, will be awarded the "Jef Denyn Award" of 1000 Euros.

A special "Staf Nees Award" of 300 Euros will be awarded to a work based on a folksong.

Each participant may submit one or more original compositions. Scores can be written by hand or notated with a computer. Entries must reach the Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn," F. de Merodestraat 63, B-2800 Mechelen, Belgium, by October 31, 2002. Besides the name and address of the Royal Carillon School, the outer envelope and the musical score itself may only mention the following:

* "Composition Competition 2002"

* a motto

* the award sought (Jef Denyn or Staf Nees)

A closed inner envelope mentioning only the motto on the outside, contains a page with the name and address of the composer. This envelope will be opened only after the jury has made its decision.  The identity of the composer must not be discernible in any way from the envelope or the score. 

The winners will be notified and invited for the presentation of awards in the Mechelen City Hall. The results of the competition will be announced by the press. The winning scores remain property of the Royal Carillon School, which retains the right to publish the works. Scores of non-winning works will be returned on request. Finally, the jury may decide not to award a prize if the scores presented do not meet the requested standards.

A new type of bell

It has been said many times that since the computer made its appearance in bell foundries in the mid-eighties, the possibilities have expanded greatly. For example, Dr. André Lehr, conservator of the Dutch National Carillon Museum and former director of the Royal Eijsbouts Bell Foundry, developed a considerably lighter bell with the same diameter as the customary bell while maintaining the same pitch and sonority. A traditional C2 bell with a diameter of 30 inches (77 cm.) weighs approximately 631 pounds (286 kg.) The new bell design with the same diameter only weighs 472 pounds (214 kg.). With 25% less bronze, the result was surprising. The Royal Petit & Fritsen Bell Foundry in Aarle-Rixtel, The Netherlands, cast a prototype. It has a beautiful sound and moreover a long, resonant decay. More details are available in an article written by Dr. Lehr entitled "The Geometrical Limits of the Carillon Bell," published in the periodical, Acustica, Vol. 86, 2000, pp. 543-549. There is no copyright on the bell--it can be cast and used by anyone who wishes.

Profile: Bok Tower Gardens

Bok Tower Gradens is one of Florida's most famous landmarks.
It was a gift to the American people from Edward Bok whose purpose was
"simply to preach the gospel and influence of beauty reaching out to
visitors through tree, shrub, flowers, birds, superb architecture, the music of
bells, and the sylvan setting. And a restful, quiet, beautiful spot where where
visitors may feel, as the sign at the entrance declares by an extract from John
Burroughs: 'I come here to find myself. It is so easy to get lost in the
world.'"

Originally named Mountain Lake Sanctuary--"a sanctuary
for humans and birds"--the carillon tower, wildlife sanctuary, and gardens
were dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge in 1929. Near Lake Wales, Bok Tower
Gardens is situated atop Iron Mountain--Florida's highest point of elevation,
298 feet. Based on the extraordinary architectural and artistic quality of both
the gardens and the tower, Bok Tower Gardens was designated by the federal
government in 1993 as a national Historic Landmark--one of the few in the State
of Florida.

Edward William Bok

Born in Den Helder, the Netherlands, in 1863, Edward William
Bok emigrated to the United States at age six, and eventually became a
successful, influential, and affluent Philadelphia editor and publisher. Bok
was a champion of social causes--a pioneer in the field of public sex
education, prenatal education, and childcare; and an environmental activist in
public health and the saving of Niagara Falls. His autobiography, The
Americanization of Edward Bok, won the Gold Medal of the Academy of Political
and Social Science and a Joseph Pulitzer Prize. Bok was a noted philanthropist,
and after his 1919 retirement, he devoted his life to fulfilling his mother's
charge: "make you the world a bit more beautiful and better because you
have been in it." One of his benefactions was the Mountain Lake Sanctuary,
realized in gratitude for the opportunities America had given him.

The Gardens

Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. of Brookline, Massachusetts,
designed the original gardens. Olmsted--whose father created New York's Central
Park--was for many years America's foremost landscape architect. In but five
years, he transformed a dreary sandhill devoid of growth and beauty into one of
the most exquisite spots of verdure in the United States. Bok Tower Gardens is
now 157 acres--more than double the amount at the time of Edward Bok's death in
1930. Thousands of azaleas, camellias, magnolias, and other flowering plants
provide seasonal vistas of color against a lush green background of ferns,
palms, oaks, and pines. Bok Tower Gardens is home to a colony of wood ducks and
126 other wild bird species.

The Tower

The centerpiece of the Gardens, Bok Tower rises elegantly to
a height of 205 feet. It is surrounded by a 15-foot-wide moat, and is
stunningly mirrored in a large reflection pond. At the base the tower is 51'
wide, and is square below 150'. It is octagonal above that mark, and 37' wide
at the top. Architect Milton B. Medary of Philadelphia was commissioned by
Edward Bok to build a tower as beautiful as the one at Mechelen, Belgium. The
pink and gray marble was quarried in Tate, Georgia. The tan coquina rock
between the tower's ribs is native to Florida and is the same as that used by
the Spaniards in the old fort at Saint Augustine.

The work of three other celebrated Philadelphians
contributes to the total effect. Lee Lawrie designed the sculpture which
decorates the tower. Thirty-two feet above the base is a frieze of Florida
wildlife, including pelicans, herons, flamingos, geese, and swans. The first
windows, 130 feet high, have a grill of colored faience of under-sea life, such
as the sea-horse and jelly-fish. Three-quarters of the way up the tower, at the
point where the octagon begins, there are corner finials of eagles and on
either side, doves and oak branches. The crown of the tower is comprised of
eight figures of cock and hen herons with nests and young joined by a
sculptured marble screen of palms and roses. Samuel Yellin wrought the ironwork
used in the tower and the moat bridges. He also designed and executed the great
brass entrance door which depicts the creation of all forms of life in 30
hand-wrought panels. J.H. Dulles Allen created colorful grilles using
earthenware decorated with opaque colored glazes. Each of the eight grilles
enclosing the bell chamber is 35 feet high. The tower weighs 5,500 tons.

The Carillon

The primary purpose of the Bok Tower is to support and house
its voice. It is a "Singing Tower." Edward Bok's Netherlandic
heritage made him keenly aware of the role of bell towers in the culture of the
Low Countries, calling the people to work, to prayer, to war, and to feast.
When installed in 1928, the instrument for Bok Tower was the largest carillon
ever cast by the Taylor Foundry at Loughborough, England. There were 61 bells
for four octaves, the top 13 notes being doubled in an attempt to mask the
deficiencies of the treble bells. With the exception of the omission of the
lowest semitone, it was completely chromatic. The bourdon weighed 22,300 pounds
and sounded Eb1 (a thirteenth below middle c). Shortly after the inauguration,
the smaller Taylor bells were added--five being doubles. All the treble doubles
were eventually removed, 24 treble bells were recast in heavier profiles, and
the range of the instrument was expanded upward to 57 tones. The transmission
system was redesigned in 1979. The Eb bourdon is now keyed to F1, hence the
instrument transposes down one whole step. The inscription on the bourdon
reads: "This Carillon is a tribute of affection from Edward William Bok to
his grandparents: Lovers of Beauty. Nineteen Hundred and Twenty-Six."

During the 1930's sound physicist Dr. G.M. Giannini from the
Curtis Institute of Music invented some means of damping the minor-third
partial in bells which was applied to the large bells in the Bok Tower carillon
as well as in the carillon of the Riverside Church in New York City. The
dampers soon went out of use.

The Carillonneurs

The Belgian Anton Brees served as carillonneur from the time
the instrument was installed in 1928 until his death in 1967. He was the son of
Antwerp city carillonneur, Staf Brees.

Milford Myhre was appointed carillonneur in 1968. Myhre
began his study of the carillon with Ronald Barnes at Lincoln, Nebraska, and
continued with Staf Nees at the Belgian Carillon School and with Percival Price
at the University of Michigan. He also studied organ with André Marchal
in Paris. Myhre is a past president of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North
America, an honorary member of the Guild of Carillonneurs of France, and was
president (1982-90) and a founding member of the World Carillon Federation. He
is highly regarded as a performer as well as for his carillon music
arrangements.

William De Turk has been the assistant carillonneur at Bok
Tower Gardens since 1993. He is also the librarian for the Anton Brees Carillon
Library which is housed in the tower. De Turk holds music degrees from
Heidelberg College and the University of Michigan, and was the first Carillon
Scholar at Bok Tower Gardens in 1974. He is also a past president of the Guild
of Carillonneurs in North America, and is currently the archivist for the Guild.

The Anton Brees Carillon Library

A large collection of materials relating to bells and
carillons had accumulated at Bok Tower when, in 1971, Milford Myhre embarked on
a project to organize it. He enlisted the help of music librarian Stephen M.
Fry to devise a system for classifying this special collection. The library
functions as both a performance collection as well as a resource for the study
of historical and technical aspects of bells and bell instruments. Helena
Caldwell served as librarian until her retirement in 1991. The catalog of the
collection is currently being converted to computer and will soon be available
on the Internet.

Education

Endeavoring to perpetuate the vision of its founder, the Bok
Tower Gardens Foundation sponsors numerous educational, cultural, scientific,
horticultural, and conservation activities. In the 1930's there was a
cooperative program between Bok Tower Gardens and the Curtis Institute of Music
(which was founded by Edward Bok's wife, Mary Louise Curtis). The conservatory's
curriculum included carillon study, for which students went to Florida. Three
composition students--Nino Rota, Gian-Carlo Menotti, and Samuel Barber--took
advantage of this program in the winter of 1931. Several of their resulting
carillon works were published by G. Schirmer in 1934; this was the only
estimable music written in America for the carillon before World War II.

A scholarship program for study at Bok Tower existed briefly
in the 1970's. Bok Tower Gardens has most recently announced the establishment
of a new, post-graduate Carillon Scholar Program for the advancement of
scholarly research, composition, and other activities relating to the art of
the carillon.

Visit Bok Tower Gardens!

Live carillon recitals are
played on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 3 pm, from December 1
through April 30 and from late June through Labor Day. Recorded recitals are
provided on the remaining days of the year at the same hour. Recorded
selections are played on the hour and half hour each day. Visiting artists,
moonlight recitals, and other special programs are given periodically during
the summer and winter seasons. The annual carillon festival features an
international slate of performers each February.

Bok Tower Gardens is located
near the crossroads of U.S. Hwy 27 and S.R. Hwy 60. It is open to the public
every day of the year from 8 am to 5 pm. For information on membership or the
Carillon Scholar Program, please note the new address: 1151 Tower Boulevard,
Lake Wales, FL 33853-3412.

As the president of the Bok
Tower Gardens Foundation, Jonathan Shaw, stated, "Bok's dream remains--a
place where everyone can discover, in the serene beauty of the Gardens, that
art and nature and humanity itself are not antithetical but a single harmonious
whole."

Profile: St. Thomas' Church, Whitemarsh, PA

The Protestant Episcopal Parish of St. Thomas' Church in Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania--20 miles from Philadelphia--was established in 1690. Bells became a part of this church's tradition in 1913 when a ten-bell chime, cast by the McShane Bell Foundry of Baltimore, Maryland, was installed.

At a memorial service for a devoted parishioner of St. Thomas', the chime-master found it impossible to play certain requested music due to the limited range of the chime. Charles Dickey, the husband of the deceased, was prompted to "do something for the bells at St. Thomas'." The Dickey family soon provided for a 48-bell carillon.

The bells were cast and tuned by the Petit & Fritsen Bellfoundry in Aarle-Rixtel, the Netherlands, and the Verdin Company of Cincinnati made the console, frame, and transmission system and was responsible for the installation. The bourdon weighs 3,223 pounds, sounds D, and is keyed to C. The keyboard compass is C, D, then chromatic through c3.

A service and recital of dedication were held on September 29, 1974. Officiating was the Rt. Rev. Lyman C. Ogilby, Bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. He is the son of Dr. Remson Ogilby, the former President of Trinity College, Hartford, who was the convener of the first meeting of carillonneurs in North American, in September 1934.

Janet S. Dundore has been the carillonneur of St. Thomas' Church ever since the instrument's installation. She plays before and after all church services. A carillon prelude replaces the organ prelude on the first Sunday of every month. The carillon is also heard at weddings and funerals at St. Thomas'. Guest recitalists are invited to perform in the summer concert series on Tuesday evenings at 7 pm during July and August. A closed circuit television monitor is provided for observation of the carillonneur at work. These recitals are often followed by 8 pm concerts in the church which feature organists, choirs, brass ensembles, dance groups, Swiss Alphornists, and other instrumentalists.

The tower, built of local red sandstone, is 70 feet high. The site of St. Thomas' Church is ideal for a carillon: surrounded by 60 acres of landscaped grounds and removed from traffic noise, homes, and tall buildings.

Profile: Maastricht, The Netherlands

Capital of the province of Limburg, Maastricht lies near the Belgian and German borders in the southeastern Netherlands. It takes its name from the Maas (Meuse) river which runs through it. The Roman settlement, Trajectum ad Mosam, was founded around 50 B.C. at this strategic river crossing point. A variety of structures bear witness to its ancient past and lively present. The Milanese architect Aldo Rossi designed the modern Bonnefanten Museum building (Limburg Museum of Art and Antiquities) which houses paintings from the southern Netherlands and modern works, as well as prehistoric material and relics from Roman and early medieval graves. However, many local artifacts remain buried under modern buildings in the city. Some remnants of the first (1229) and second (mid-14th century) town walls still exist including the Helpoort (Hell Gate), the oldest town gate in The Netherlands.

The Sint Servaaskerk, founded at the end of the fourth century, is the oldest church in The Netherlands. The original building was erected over the grave of St. Servatius, the first bishop of Maastricht. The oldest part of the present church--a Romanesque cruciform basilica--dates from the year 1000.

While the present carillon of St. Servaas is relatively new, the church has a history of bells beginning in the 16th century. A tower clock was ordered in 1544 and eleven years later the bellfounder Henrick Van Trier, actually of Aachen, was commissioned to cast 19 bells. The bells did not pass inspection and were recast before being hung in the middle tower of the west section of the church. When the trio of towers was  rebuilt in baroque style, it was deemed time to replace the falsely-tuned Van Trier bells with a new instrument. Andreas Jozef van den Gheyn of Louvain was engaged in 1767 to build a new carillon of 40 bells based on a bourdon sounding F. Several legends describe how the carillon narrowly escaped plunder during the French occupation. It is said that a commission of the city warded off the danger by declaring the instrument "un chef-d'œuvre de l'art." Some contend that a plea was made claiming that the inhabitants of the area that had previously been Belgium were of the belief that a tower without a carillon was a body without a soul, and that the citizens could not be denied the pleasure of the carillon to which they were so dearly attached. More convincing is a tactic used by a number of cities in various wars: the Maastricht people told the French that the carillon should be preserved in order to play for victories of the French army and French national celebrations. The argument worked, as seizure of the carillon for its bronze content was definitively cancelled. The Maastricht carillon was not immune, however, to the general decadence that plagued the carillon world during the 19th century. Local piano builder Frederik Smulders got his hands on the instrument and installed an ivory-type keyboard. A 20th-century revival of the art was inspired by the Belgian Jef Denyn, and he served as an advisor when a new manual playing console was installed in 1935. But alas, the instrument was lost to a fire in 1955.

A brand new carillon for Maastricht was cast by the Royal Eijsbouts Bellfoundry of Asten, The Netherlands, in 1976. The 47 bells were hung in the south tower of the choir end of the church. With a 595-pound bourdon sounding C, the instrument was very lightweight--transposing up an octave. With the restoration of the church in 1984 the carillon was moved to one of the towers at the west side. It was enlarged with ten new bells and incorporating the three Petit & Fritsen swinging bells (c, d, e) which were already hanging in that tower. The carillon now spans five octaves and plays in concert pitch with a bourdon of C (4,961 lbs.). In addition to a special summer series of recitals on Thursday evenings from May through August, the instrument is played incidentally throughout the year.

A 14,112-pound bell (G) hangs in the other west tower; it was cast in 1983 by Eijsbouts as a replica of a bell by the brothers Moer which was broken in the 19th century. This bell is called "Grameer" (grandmother) which indicates its very special place in the hearts of the people of Maastricht. It is rung only a few times each year on very special occasions. The old "grameer" was placed in the church courtyard, the listening area for carillon concerts, on the spot where it was cast in 1515.

Maastricht also has a 1664 Hemony carillon (bourdon F-sharp, 1,687 lbs.) which hangs in the city hall. Recently restored, the instrument comprises one bell made by François and Pieter Hemony in 1663, sixteen by François Hemony in 1664, 26 by Eijsbouts in 1962, and six by Petit & Fritsen in 1996. It is played every Friday from 11:30 to 12:30 pm.

Frank Steijns is municipal carillonneur, not only in Maastricht but also in Weert and Heerlen. He received the Final Diploma with great distinction from the Royal Belgian Carillon School in 1991. Steijns studied violin, music theory, and orchestral conducting at the Lemmens Institute where he obtained four First Prizes, and graduated in 1994. He wrote a thesis on the Dutch composer Henk Badings. He has made numerous recordings as a carillonneur and violinist. He tours as a violinist with the Johann Strauss Orchestra of André Rieu which, in Monaco in 1996, won the "World Music Award" as the best selling Benelux artist of the world. Also, Steijns founded a commission that will organize an International Composition Competition "Henk Badings" with the purpose of stimulating composers all over the world to write carillon music.