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- Volume 2, Issue 1, 2023
Carillon and Bell Culture in the Low Countries - Volume 2, Issue 1, 2023
Volume 2, Issue 1, 2023
- Articles
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Bells in the Western Cape of South-Africa
Authors: Tertius De Wet, Jef L. Teugels & Pieta Van DeventerAbstractDue to its historical position as the earliest settlement, the Western Cape became the home of many heritage sites, including the home of many bells of historical interest tied to the home countries of its early immigrants. South Africa was fortunate to escape the ravages of the European wars where many bells were lost, and often rare bells are still found in the Western Cape. From 2008 onwards the authors systematically traced the location of bells, and over the last fourteen years visited and documented 500+ bells. These were visited in their current locations, measured acoustically and physically (where possible), photographed, and inventoried in a digital library at Stellenbosch University.
In this paper an overview is given of the more interesting bells in the inventory, discussed in their ties to the historical development of the Western Cape. These bells are found at mission stations, churches, farms, public buildings, and originate from a variety of countries and founders.
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Carillons in the Soundscape of Gdańsk1
More LessAbstractFrom 1561, the chiming of the Main Town Hall automatic carillon bells became a permanent component of the City of Gdańsk soundscape, to which, from 1575, were added the chimes of the St Catherine’s Church tower ‘striking device’ in the Old Town. The first automatic carillon comprised fourteen bells, whereas the other ‘device’ probably had several. It was not until 1738 that St Catherine’s Church acquired a large carillon with a keyboard as well as a mechanism for automatic playing.
This article investigates the possible reasons why carillons were built for the Main Town Hall and St Catherine’s Church in Gdańsk, describes the bells and the mechanisms for automatic playing of both instruments and considers the repertoire by which their chiming filled the City of Gdańsk soundscape over the centuries.
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Sounds and Silence
More LessAbstractThe article explores the changes that Protestant theologians and church officials introduced to bell ringing in the Reformation. They concentrated bell ringing on the announcing of all types of services. They abolished all sorts of bell ringing that they suspected to be magical or Papal. Yet, they couldn’t push through all their reforms because the believers in the parishes resisted, especially in the case of weather ringing (Wetterläuten) and ringing against the Turks (Türkenläuten). In some cases, the Reformation theologians gave new interpretations to established forms of ringing, especially in the case of the Angelus ringing (Angelusläuten). At last, it is considered how these changes in the Reformation era still apply to bell ringing in present Protestant churches.
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- Artikelen
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Over Beiaarden en Mensuren
More LessAbstractFor keyboard instruments with strings or organ pipes, the principle of the Pythagorean curve is in most cases not maintained over the entire size of the instrument. The same applies to carillons. Especially at the treble part of carillons, the diameter of bells is larger than according to the Pythagorean curve. Already in the seventeenth century bell founders made special bell designs for treble bells. In this article we define the different proportions (‘mensuren’) in the bell profile and we show the scaling in carillons. The Hemony brothers were very meticulous in the design of their bells and carillons. More research using today’s computer mathematics will probably give more information on the designing tools of the Hemony brothers.
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