WELLINGTON CARILLON

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 207, 26 April 1932, Page 7

WELLINGTON CARILLON

WELL-KNGWN CARILLONEUR INAUGURATES MEMORIAL BELLS Mr. Clifford -Bell who came to New Zealand to inaugurate the Wellington War Memorial Carillon, on Anzac Day, is the official carilloneur at Bournville, England, the famous pioneer "garden village" which is associated with the name of Cadbury Bros., Ltd., the famous manufacturers of cocoa and chocolate. Mr. Ball is also organist at Messrs. Cadburys'' factory, where there is a fine instrument. This is in the concert hall forming part of the building ltnown as the dining room block, which is the socidl centre for tjie 8000 employees, and, indeed, for many other residents in the neighbourhood. Mr. Ball was in the Navy during the Great War, serving in mine-sweep-ers in the North Sea and English Channel, and did not take up music professionally until after demobilisation. He studied at Birmingham Univer'sity, whece Sir Granville Bantock, the wfell known composer, is Professor of Music, and took the degree of Bachelor of Music with honours in 1922. In 1924 he was appointed Carilloneur at Bournville and went to Malines, Belgium, to study bell-play-ing in the home of carillons. He revisited Malines in 1925 and the following year gained his Diploma at the National School of Carillon Art, with honours, being the first man outside Belgium and Holland to do so. No Stranger to Bells. Mr. Ball is no stranger to the Wellington Carillon, which, as our readers know, has been heard at New-castle-on-Tyne and London. At the former place it was hung in the North East Coast Exhibition (being loaned by the New Zealand Govermnent), and was opened by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. Mr. Ball played at the opening ceremony, and subsequently gave four hundred recitals. On Sunday evenings, when the exhibition was closed, people frequently gathered on the Town Moor to the number of a hundred thousand to listen to Mr. Ball's playing. On several occasions his recitals were broadcast, and were heard even in New Zealand. The Wellington Carillon was later erected in Hyde Park, London, and Mr. Ball gave another four hundred recitals. Here his playing again aroused tremendous interest, and the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, was a frequent visitor to the carillon tower. Mr. Ball had the honour of inaugurating Scotland's first carillon at Dumbarton, Scotland, in 1928, and the Portadown (Xreland) carillon in 1930. In 1931, he revisited Malines to give a reeital in the Cathedral at the celebrat:on of the jubilee of the appointment of Mons. Jef Denyn (the world's most renowned carilloneur to the town of Malines. It was under Mons Denyn that Mr. Ball studied, and carilloneurs from France, Holland, Portugal, America and elsewhere were also present at the banquet given in the master's honour. European Carillons. Mr. Ball has also played on carillons at Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp and Louvain (Belgium), Tilburg and Bois-le-Duc (Holland), Armagh Cathedral (Ireland) and Loughborough (England). On the occasion of Mr. Ball's present trip, he has also been invited to give recitals in Australia and Canada on his return trip home. In addition to being an accomplished carilloneur, Mr. Ball has also written a good deal of original music for the bells, and transcribed much classical and other music for the instrument. It will not be surprising, if, during his visit, Mr. Ball renders some of the Maori airs which are so pleasing and familiar to the New Zealand public. New Zealand has now a closer link with Mr. Ball, inasniuch as two years ago his firm amalgamated with the old N.Z. firm of R. Hudson and Co., of Dunedin, thus forming ths present firm of Cadbury Fry Hudson Ltd.