, 1870-05-15
a CHAPTER ON CARuLONS.
The Chimes OF tho Great Cathedral
-EE0vx They skre lkunE.
Er~~,, f+osaa1Fs r En,1,shS lfon1~;nn

i
-HEOw They a.re lkung.
From. Casselrs (Eng1ish) Magazine.
We venture To Say that, although there are
several carillons unused for The most part!(
in different parts Of England, there aro good
many people who do not know pEeaisely what
| ia meant by cArillon-a frind OF our aug-
gcsted the other day, = SOFT Of carriage"
But in Belgium, the classic land OF bells"
| the car1illon is \ national institution 4 CARL
lon consiets Of IN octare of&balls, capable Of
playing tnnes with variations Of al so1s, either
| by machinery alone, or by = Professional InAn,
] called ; ed17lioneu,' who riaya upon : s KY
toan q bas ~ n'1 e,5ou iii md
| curillon<ur.
On feast days tho townspeople alwsys expect
| special performance On tho bells, and the
cnrttlon<ur is often listened TO By an audience
c11l miles, tho greater number OF whom
arp ut least as critical about the quail
tt Of the entertainment u our enlghtr
ered eountrsnen who aoek TO bear she
dark room in the tower str tho player. Some
times it il in the tower OF noble cathedral A.
| at Antwerp and AeehGn; sometimes it is An
old civic bcifry,, as at Bruses and Touuay.
Tho keyboard Is not made Of itoEs, but son-
pegs, corresponding to festy o. city bells,
tuned in perfect scales Besides the pegh
| there is row Of pedals, generally connected
With tho biggest bells. These arc struck with
| an orgsn. The bells themselves hung high
overhead in tho tower. They arc Of AL sizes.
and frequently Of IL ages. The biggest will
often be large enough for tvo or thr. people
to stand upright inside tham, while the sznsn-
. oldest may have been manufactured when Ed
ward III Was reigniug In England, while tho
last. with its FURNISHED surface and sharply
cut devices, NAV have bean turned out By tho
a schede, but yesterday. IN carlton playing,
; the bell is not struck By e1apper, but tlWAya
! | by a heavy hammer upon the out6ide. The
y hammer is worked hy thu wsre from tho key
n beard, and drops upon the beu 1rst as tue
\ linus cathedral tower is changed into vast
caee containing musical instrument capable
:. Of making music foE = whotc city.
At the appointed time the cur1Honettr, YER
Il lightly clothed with his fists carefully protect
- Cd with thick leathern gloves, and tho Sleeves
- turned up to TIE elbows, tskca his seat at the
~ keyboard. After szniting a few Of the pegs
q by way OF prelude, he begins the performance
- His fsts and feet soon deal With his coiossa
m instrument after q wonderful fashion He be
~ gins By simple air with simple accompani
nent, putting down deep pedal ball here mi
there, which resounds through several BAR
ts ts while an ar Is being played On the snalie
~ treble bells. Attentive listeners Ill over th
town are esgesay Waiting for the ittst vas'saan
~ ~ ekll OF tho performer is moro and more se
e yeyclv tried. No one who has not seen an
= beard carillon music would believe the ccmp&
Es Gated passagcs that can be performed On Ii;
Tor cariIfons is little dying out, even in Be
IS GUM; but in the lnst century, when music q:
oog icss eaei1y obtained By the people, Ii
lse &c essentially popular form, this music I!
~ tho million, was carried 70 al exdaotd
his den Gheyn Is stu extAnt in manuscript
g, Louvain. 4 few exquisite fragments hay
20 been printed and pubGshed By the Cheyai
et- Van Elewyck, and can be played upon Il
-, pisnototte Of organ with considerable efoe
", There are. however, few eu,-iuone,trs now Ii
'sn ing capable Of playing this music upon Il
Us. bells. The effect must, indeed, have been {
,.a = cee<lingly grand; for, in eyery esnss Of Il
aes M word. hi. beIl-music is good music It zescz
sea M hiss the finest Inspirations Of Bach and HI
e. del, and il written in the style Of their occ
70 sional prcludes for tho organ, and suits I
low the har1 sichord. But Tasden Gheyn usy
loses sight Of the bells, and everything
e. written with Peculiar insight into the sour
oat producing qualities Of tho carlton. 7
ng, extreme resonance Of bells il always cons
., | cred. The passages are 60 constructed
ast never to r1n into discord, While tho great be
are Introduced with the ssmo grand and N
1es- kive effect which Bach 70 often displays In
aH. pedal passages
her, 1t the close Of tho performance the cal
'o"- loneur emcsges GEe An engine stoker, cove
r1ea with pe1sp1atiou, and very considerably
- hAuEted :; indeed, It requires stroug man
En- :e attempt this impressive aud violent nuSc
liAs crciee,
D. The game bells can be worked very nj
An r,o,e cs SIN hv n rncch.nis7n similar to tha
9 to = mus:cnl hnT This mech auisn consists c
T. huge tambour, OF barrel covered with ap''
yer. hn1- This barrel i. wound up, md in its
on | o1ntfnr 10 Ynada tn work thn wires cQuuet
d BY Lii the bell hamrnerg. which At othe1 Ii
neh, an worked With performer At the key-ho
9An. Such = bA1rel ia ahxed to al the moro inn
the tsnt rariuons ia Belgium The Autwerp
a3es Mechin ca.iIlons nte tho best, and upon Il
'ntl5 the headquarters, the quarters, the hall ho
can and the hours are played In tunes and Vi
: the t;ous of di0e1eut fcueths-