The Carillon
The carillon is a manually played instrument consisting of a set
of tuned bells with a chromatic sequence of at least two octaves,
played from a baton-and-pedal keyboard. It is neither electric
nor automatic, but like a piano or organ is played by a trained
musician who uses his own physical strength. The instrument was
invented during the Middle Ages in what is now Belgium and Holland. The
carillonneurs played before and after the church services and on
festive occasions. In the
17th century the Hemony brothers cast the first well-tuned carillons in
the Netherlands, including five for the city of
Amsterdam. At the beginning of the 18th century, Friedrich Wilhelm I,
King of Prussia, donated carillons to the Berlin Parochial Church and
the
Potsdam Garrison Church. Both were played regularly until they were
destroyed in the Second World War. Since the end of the First
World War
about 170 carillons have been installed in North America, including
both the
largest and heaviest in the world. Today there are about 700 carillons
worldwide, mostly in Belgium, the Netherlands and the
USA. Germany has 42 carillons in cities like Aschaffenburg, Berlin,
Cologne, Erfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Hannover, Kiel,
Wiesbanden, and Würzburg.
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