Evening star., 1937-12-26

Chimes and Carillons Send Out Inspiring
Music in Many Lands, and Some Are
of Historic Importance.

, which can be expressed In no other
way, than Christmas carols played on
the 6rillon, the highest type Of all
bell music. and the only class which
may be defined Is an art.
In the words Of Kamiel Levevre,
celebrated Belgian carillonneur. the
carlton ''is the most sensitive. the
most responsive. the nearest to mans
soul OF any instrument in the world"
There are in the entire world over
200 of these majestic instruments.
Even New Zealand and South Africa
have their singing towers. Canada has
several, and already there are more
than 30 carillons in the United States.
and the greater number Of these have
been individual gifts.
THE latest carlton gift in the United
States Is the recently erected sing
ing tower Of 47 bells at Luray, Va.
the gift to the people Of the town by
Col. T. c. Northcott, 93-year-old Civil
War veteran, in memory Of his wife.
The location Of this tower. Graded
between the Blue Ridge Mountains and
the more austere Alleghenies, and
rising on an eminence overlooking the
famous Shenandoah and Page Valleys.
Is ideal for bringing out this type Of
music. A well-known clergyman of
Washington, after hearing the Luray
carlton played by Anton Brees, IA
nous Flemish carillonneur, at the
dedicatory exercises last month. said,
1T sounds like great harp in the
heavnes."
Other fine carillons found in the
United States include the Singing
Tower in the Mercersburg Academy
Chapel, at Mereersburg. Pa; the Rich
mond War Memorial Carlton, the
first to be erected in the State of Vir-
ginia; the carlton of the Riverside
Church in New York City, the largest
in the world, and the one at the Uni
versity of Chicago, both of which are
gifts Of John D. Rockefeller, jr, in
memory of his mother.
Beyond . question, the most ideally
conceived and located carlton in this
country Is the Singing. Tower Of the
Mountain Lake Sanctuary in Florida,
the gift to the people Of the Nation
from the late Edward Box. which will
be ringing on Christmas day.
A simpler type Of bell music. in this
country, is obtained from chimes. The
chime has a few bells, usually 8, 10 or
IL, which are stationary and not swung,
as in the case of ringing peals. Some
are rung automatically, but many are
rung by = hand-directed mechanism.
The notes Of q chime correspond to
those Of . major scale, and only the
simplest tunes can be played.
COME of the finest chimes in the
~ world hang in English cathedrals.
Notable chimes in this country in
clude those in Christ Church, Phila-
delphia, said to be the gift Of Queen
Anne Of England. Others are found
in st. Patrick's Cathedral Trinity
Church, Grace Church. and the Metro
politan Clock Tower. oil In New York
City; Christ Church, Boston, Mass;
st. Michaels Church in Charleston,
S. c., and the 12-note console chime
Of the Cadet Chapel at West Point.
The difference between n carlton
and . chime is in the number Of
bells, the tuning of them. and the
arrangement Of the keyboard. The
compass of . carlton is three octaves
or more, including the semitones.-the
lowest bell being often many tons in
weight, with each preceding bell
smaller, 10 that In the highest octaves
the weight of each bell Is but . few
pounds. In q carlton the bells are
hung stationary, In . structural steel
framework; that 10 they are not swung
BY wheel and rope whsn played, but