The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-06-16
Frederick Hask1n's Letter
CHIMES STILL GROW IN FAVOR

use or the arm muscles, and Incl
dentally of a good many other mus
cles in the body. However, consid-
ering that six of the Is bells weigh
more than 1900 pounds, the exer-
ton required to ring them by the
levers is slight
The bells in the story above the
console are arranged in a square of
two tiers. With the network of
chains they I'LL the entire loft They
are SO heavy that the church tower
had to be considerably strength
ened 10 hold them safely The
whole set weighs 1880 pounds.
The largest of these bells weighs
. 1900 pounds and from this, the
lowest note in the scale, the bells
grade off lighter until the bell with
the highest note weighs only 225
pounds. This is not a record
breaking light weight for a must
cal bell. In four octave carlton.
such as maybe heard in Belgium,
the highest toned bell sometimes
weighs as little as Is pounds
Long Popular IN Europe.
Though bells are coming into
popularity in this country, for war
memorials and in church steeples.
chimes and chin-o players have not
yet been given the recognition here
that Europe has accorded them.
For more than four centuries the
bells have held a high place in the
life of towns of Europe. especially
in Belgium and Holland Many OF
the larger cities III this part of Eu-
rope have carillons, containing sew
eraI octaves and attuned to the
chromatic scale Some towns have
as many as As or so bells in caril-
Ion sets of bells.
How popular they are in these
countries may be seen from the
estimate that there are about one
hundred carillons in Holland and
almost as many in Belgium. Dur
ing the war some of the Belgium
sets were wrecked by German
troops and valuable old bells were
melted down to make ammunition.
This was a cause of great indigna-
ton among the Belgians who look
upon their bells as old and treas
ured possessions.
The player of the chimes abroad
has always been a figure of local
importance and musician of dis
tinction. Often he holds office from
the city officials. Every day or at
set times, he gives the townsfoIk a
concert of old melodies, hymns,
folk songs, even classical selec-
tions, through the round, sonOrOus
notes of the bells.
William G. Rice, an authority on
the carillohS of Europe, says in his
book on the subject that the bells
in some towers have been played
for a hundred years or more on
fixed days and at the same hour.
When the bell master in one Dutch
town obtained permission to play
at an unaccustomed hour for the
benefit of Mr.. Rice, the inhabitants
of the town were so startled by
hearing the bells at the unusual
time of day that the newspapers
had to explain the situation at
great length.
How firmly rooted a tradition
chime playing is in these countries
is shown by the requirements of
carlton player in 1887, as described
by Fourdon. He says that even at
this time the carlton was already
perfectly organized at Nivelles. The
player took charge of the bells and
sang in the choir las much as pos
sible" In return for these services
he drew a salary of 200 French
pounds and six measures of wheat.
besides what he could earn from
playing at weddings and special
services.
An Interesting demand on lhis
carillonneur was that he must
teach his art to some child from
the orphan house, designated hg
the magistrate. And the writer adds
that the aldermen of this town ex-
hibited still more their love of the
bell music: They established a
carlton composed of II little and
greater bells, intended to provide
for the musical instruction of the
children, the future cariIlonneurs.'
This was in the 18th century. and
Belgium and Holland have never
lost their interest in bell music.
Some of their finest bells have
been compared in artistic value to
the vioIins of CTemOna. Perhaps
more than anything else such a
comparison suggests the possIbili-
ties of the chimes.