The Yale Guild of Carillonneurs visits the Carillon in Berlin-Tiergarten

On Sunday, March 6, 2011 the Yale Guild of Carillonneurs visited the Carillon in Berlin-Tiergarten. The group of 18 young carillonneurs attend Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA and play its grand carillon with 54 bells, a 6,3 ton bourdon and a total weight of 38,5 tons. The bells were cast by the English bellfounder John Taylor. The visit to Berlin was the first stop in a tour through Germany, during which the Yale carillonneurs visited carillons in Emmerich, Frankfurt, and Wiesbaden. The Berlin carillonneur Jeffrey Bossin hosted the group, explained how he designed the Berlin carillon instrument to be a typical American grand carillon in a park setting and played the choral setting Victimae paschali from Roy Hamlin Johnson's Carillon Book for the Liturgical Year. Each member of the Yale Guild then played a short piece. Their repertoire included carillon works such as the Sonnerie by Ronald Barnes and Asteroids by Gary White as well as popular tunes such as the melody from the film The Godfather and a duet on the song Chim Chim Cheree from the film Mary Poppins. Bossin gave the members of the group many tips designed to help them improve their playing technique and render it more expressive. At the end of the visit the group gave Mr. Bossin a card thanking him for his hospitality and then proceeded to the train station to catch a train to their next destination.

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