In this Book
- Singing Bronze: A History of Carillon Music
- Book
- 2014
- Published by: Leuven University Press
The fascinating history of bell music
The carillon, the world’s largest musical instrument, originated in the 16th century when inhabitants of the Low Countries started to produce music on bells in church and city towers. Today, carillon music still fills the soundscape of cities in Belgium and the Netherlands. Since the First World War, carillon music has become popular in the United States, where it adds a spiritual dimension to public parks and university campuses.
Singing Bronze opens up the fascinating world of the carillon to the reader. It tells the great stories of European and American carillon history: the quest for the perfect musical bell, the fate of carillons in times of revolt and war, the role of patrons such as John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Herbert Hoover in the development of American carillon culture, and the battle between singing bronze and carillon electronics.
Richly illustrated with original photographs and etchings, Singing Bronze tells how people developed, played, and enjoyed bell music. With this book, a fascinating history that is yet little known is made available for a wide public.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- pp. 11-12
- Part One: Bell Cultures in Antiquity and the Middle Ages
- 1. The magic of old bells
- pp. 15-26
- 2. The time of God
- pp. 27-38
- 3. The time of man
- pp. 39-48
- 4. The bondage of time
- pp. 49-56
- Part Two: The Old Carillon Art
- 5. A new musical instrument
- pp. 59-70
- 6. Carillon music in a divided land
- pp. 71-84
- 7. Pure bells
- pp. 85-96
- 8. Carillon music at the court
- pp. 97-108
- 9. The Bach of the carillon
- pp. 109-120
- 10. Panorama of the old carillon art
- pp. 121-136
- Part Three: The New Carillon Art
- 11. National Carillon
- pp. 139-148
- 12. The carillon as romantic symbol
- pp. 149-164
- 13. In search of the sound of the past
- pp. 165-176
- 14. A soul in peace, among the stars
- pp. 177-190
- 15. The broken bells of Flanders
- pp. 191-206
- 16. Memorial bells
- pp. 207-228
- 18. ‘The bells fight with us’
- pp. 249-266
- 20. Innovations in the Old and the New World
- pp. 285-308
- 21. Panorama of the new carillon art
- pp. 309-324
- Sources and acknowledgements
- pp. 325-326
- Bibliography
- pp. 337-350
- Origin of the illustrations
- pp. 351-352