THE CARILLON

Hokitika Guardian, 20 April 1932, Page 2

THE CARILLON

FIRST CONCERT EARLY

NOTED REAVER ARRIVES

WELLINGTON, April 16

■Recognised as the leading ciii'dlouis; in England, Mr C lifford Ball, "ho is to inaugurate the Wellington War .Memorial Carillon, armed at Wellington to-day by the Rangitata from London. .Mr Ball, who is accompanied by hh wife, is the official carillonist at IBournviile, Kngi.uio, ii.e famous p.ox.ccr garden village which is associated with the name of Cadbury Bros., Ltd. He .is also organist at the factory of Cadbury Bros., Ltd., through whose generosity he has come to Xew Zealand. M r Ball was in the- Navy during tin;

war, serving in mine-sweepers in the ■North .Sea and -English Channel, and did not take up music professionally unti p after demobilisation. He studied at the Birmingham University under Sir j Granville Bantock, and took the degree of Bachelor of -Music with honours in 1922. In 1924 he was appointed caril- j lonist at Bournville, and went to .Malines, Belgium, to study bell-playing.] He visited Malines in 1925, and the following year gained his diploma at , the National School ot Caribou AD, with honours, being the first Englishman to do so, Mr Ball is no stranger to the Wellington carillon, tor he has played it at Newenfitle-on-Ty ne and London. At the former place it was hung in fho North-East Coast exhibition (being lent by tlm Wellington Carillon Society) which was opened by the Prince of Wales. Mr Ball played at the opening ceremony, and subsequently gave over two hundred recitals. On Sunday evening, when the. exhibition was closed, people to the number of ICO,OOO frequently gathered on the town mooi to J.steu to -Mr Ball’s playing. On several occasions Ill's recitals were broadcast, and were heard even in New Zealand, q he icrillon was later erected in Hvcle •Park, London, and Mr Ball ( gave another two hundred recitals. Here his playing again aroused tremendous interest, ami his Excellency the Governor-General, Lord Bledis'.oe, was a frequent visitor to the carillon tower. ,

WIDE EXPERIENCE. Mr Ball had the honour of inaugurating Scotland's first carillon at Dumbarton, Scotland, in 1928. and the Portadown (Ireland) carillon in 1930. In 1931 he visited Malines to give a recital in the Cathedral at the- celebration of the jubilee of the appointment of M. J-ef Denyn (the world's _ most renowned carillonist) as carillonist to the town of Malines. It was under M. Denyn that -Mr Ball studied, and carillonists from France, Holland, Portugal, America, and elsewhere were also at the baijquet.-given m the master’s honour. Mr Ball his also played on carillons at* Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, and Donvain (Belgium); Tilburg and Bois-le-Duc (Holland), Armagh Cathedral (Ireland), and Loughborough (England), On the occasion of AD' Ball s present trip he has also been invited to give recitals in Australia and Canada on his return to E- gland. . ' In addition to being an accomplished carillonist Air Ball has also written a good deal of original music for the bells and transcribed much classical and other music for the instrument. II will not be surprising if. during l- 13 visit, Air Ball plays some of the Maori airs which are so pleasing and familiar to the New Zealand public.