The CARILLON and the PEOPLE

Radio Record, Volume V, Issue 42, 29 April 1932, Page 1

The CARILLON and the PEOPLE

bY

Clifford

Ball

[Master Carillonist] LA Talk from 2YA

Berk long the carillon will be part of the life of the citizens of Wellington. Its name will be on the tip of every tongue, and its pronunciation is sure to cause some controversy, I have only been in Wellington a few days, but I have been asked my opinion on a number of occasions as to how the word should be pronounced. It is, of course, essentially French, and in that language is pronounced "Careeyon." As the Carillon, until fairly recent times, has always been characteristic of the Low Countries (Belgium and Holland), we have no equivalent in the English language. English people who have nv knowledge of French naturally like some method’ of pronouncing the adopted French word, as it does not come easily to them to say "Careeyon." I notice, that quite a number of people say "Carrilion,’ which Anglicises the word in the same way as the French "pavillon" becomes pavilion. This, of course, is incorrect, unless the spelling is changed and another "i" is introduced. If the people of New Zealand decide to alter the spelling and use "Carilion," all very well-(I believe this has been adopted in Australia). Personally I prefer to strike the happy medium and say Carillon. s HE player in French is 1 T a Carilloneur (or in the case of a lady, a Carilloneuse), both of which are difficult to pronounce in English. I think Carillonist is quite a good substitute in preference to Carillionist. One might even say Carillon player or bell player; but never bell ringer. A bell ringer is one of a band of ringers, each of whom has a rope attached to his particular bell, with which he sets the bell swinging. I have been questioned many times as to whether men

I played the Carillon by means of ropes. On other occasions I have heard the uninitiated say that they _thought I had a huge hammer in each hand and struck the \ J) SSS

bells themselves. One has only to sea! the size and disposition of the bells ix ' the tower to realise that this would be a physical impossibility even to such an agile person as a Carilloneur. The Carillon is a comparatively delicate instrument in effect, and I have often-likened it to a gigantic harpsichord. In fact, much of the harpsichord music of the 18th Century is very. effective when played on the Carillon, It is also a splendid medium for educating the people ix the love and knowledge of the nation’s folk music, Nothing is more effective nor has a greater appeal on the bells than the traditional English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh folk songs. Listening to a Carillon will be a new experience to the majority of people in Wellington, and a fresh medium through which to receive music. I shall endeavour in compiling programmes at first to make the items as simple and as direct as possible, so that you will have no difficulty in distinguishing the tunes played. NE has to acquire thé att of listening 6 bells to a certain extent, and in time one catf appreciate the more complicated classical items which are played. At my home in Bournville, B’ham, wé

have a Carillon (not as large ag yours), consisting of 42 bells, with the largest bell weighing 2 tons (yours is 5 tons), I give recital there each Sun day evening dur ing the summer months, and theseare attended by large crowds, who congregate on the green and in the park nearby, where seats are provided. The tower containing the bells is situated in the village green of (Cntd. on p. 24.);

‘The Carillon and the People

(Continued from page 1.) Messrs. Cadbury Bros’. garden city, near to the cocoa and chocolate factory. The bells are part of the life of Bournville, and I have often heard people say how they miss them when they leave the town. Coming back to the site of your Carillon, I remember some year or two ago hearing that it was to be erected on Mount Cook. Although my geography is bad, I had an idea that Mt. Cook was in the South Island. I referred to an atlas, and discovered, much to my amazement, that it was 12,000ft. up in the sky, and a few hundred miles from Wellington. NeedJess to say, on visiting the tower the other day I saw the Mt. Cook in Wellington, and was relieved to find that it was quite an inoffensive hillside, without any traces of snow or ice.