Charles "strikes" again.....

[Ferretfancy]

Flosshilde,

It's a long time since I read The Nine Tailors, but this has reminded me to pick it up again. I think it's one of the best of her books.

[Mary Chambers]

I shall watch, even though I'm not very keen on hairy chests......but I love the sound of church bells, even when they are oddly tuned. The thought of bellringers always brings to mind a certain 'Wendy [can't remember surname], Tower Captain', a large square formidable young woman who was in charge of the ringing at the village church of my youth. No-one would have dared disobey or argue with her. There's something gloriously eccentric about it all.

[Flosshilde]

Flosshilde,

It's a long time since I read The Nine Tailors, but this has reminded me to pick it up again. I think it's one of the best of her books.

Same here - very atmospheric, & the idea of being locked in the belfrey gives me the horrors.

[Anna]

I watched it, thought it a very interesting programme because, although I love the sound of Church bells, I know nothing of the mechanics of them and the tuning was fascinating. Very clever how Charlie brought the different sounds of tower and hand bells together.

[Chris Newman]

I love the sound of a 'change' of bells. Even more I love a well played 'carillon': In London, St Clement Danes in the Strand, has a lovely set. Another I love is the Church of St Peter and St Paul at Vysehrad in the South of Prague which stands by the graves of Dvorak, Smetana, Jan and Raphael Kubelik and many other famous souls: on the hour it plays amongst a selection of melodies the grand tune from Vltava. I enjoyed Charlie's programme on clog dancing and now have put this one on my must catch up with list. Prague also has gorgeous carillons at the famous clock in the Old Town Square and the Church of the Loreto behind Prague Castle.

[David Underdown]

Bryn, the five rings triples from All Saints Kingston will be broadcast as well. Haven't watched last night's programme properly yet, though I saw a couple of snatches and recognised one guy I used to ring with in Peterborough.

You can find a bit more about the premiere at http://www.surreybellringers.org.uk/...-rings-triples on the website of the Surrey Association of Church Bell Ringers (of which I'm a member), and also at http://www.cccbr.org.uk where you can also find the "blue line" (the equivalent of a score, though change ringing is always done from memory) [ed. actually the blue line is also on the Surrey page]

[MrGongGong]

Is it "Music" David ?

[David Underdown]

In what sense? It's been composed based on change ringing methodology - but is not strictly a method as it breaks some of the decisions of the peal committee - chiefly that the some of the bells stay in the same place for more than four changes. Howard Skempton has tried to incorporate some of the specific changes which are considered more musical (eg "tittums" which in C major would be C' F B E A D G C, and "Queen's" C' A F D B G E C). In addition to working out the method, he's also composed a specific "touch" to bring it to the specified 12 minute length. Change ringing isn't concerned with tonality, in some ways it has more in common with 12 tone techniques, though of course it doesn't use all the chromatic notes. You can always pick out the opening of the method on the piano. Pick a key, any key, what's notated as 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (8) is simply a descending major scale - its not written in necessarily, but a triples method almost always rung with the 8th "rung behind", ringing last in every change. Of course there's no rhythmic variation (well there shouldn't be anyway. The ringing of each bell should basically be evenly spaced, though there is conventionally a one beat rest after every second group of 8 strikes, ie 1234567812345678.1234567812345678

I meant to say in my previous post that there are rings outside the UK (though mostly in places that were at some time part of the British Empire). Several in Ireland, Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand (though one fewer there since the earthquake destroyed the cathedral), also a handful around South Africa, Zimbabwe and east Africa. There's a ring at Dordrecht, and also one in Madrid and a couple in Pakistan and India ( though other than Dordrecht, none of these last few are in a fit state to ring)

[MrGongGong]

so from your reply you seem to say that it is. Whereas I have met bellringers who are adamant that it's not "music" but something else entirely !

[David Underdown]

Sorry I was talking about the specific Olympic piece, rather than ringing in general. It undoubtedly has musical aspects, but that isn't its primary purpose - arguably classical music caught up with ringing during the 20th century, so it's more possible to consider it in purely musical terms now than it would have been in the 19th century

[Mary Chambers]

There's a very good carillon in Loughborough -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loughborough_Carillon

I enjoyed the programme, though I'm not sure that the piece really worked in the end. Still, a good idea worth trying. I particularly like the sound of handbells.

Cambridge looked very hot!

[MrGongGong]

Taylors is , of course, the largest bell foundry in the world (or was ?)
Villedieux les Poeles has a brilliant one as well with a medieval gantry crane

[agingjb]

Interesting program, but what was all the other background music for?

[David Underdown]

Taylor's is still going though was in administration for a bit a year or two back. There's also the Whitechapel Foundry, basically the same company had been in operation on the same site since the 16th? century. Formerly there were also Warner's and Gillett & Johnston - and prior to the 20th century a host of small local founders such as Rudhall of Gloucester. The Penn family (founders of Pennsylvania) were also bell founders at one time

[Ferretfancy]

With Christmas coming up, does anybody remember those broadcasts when they gave us Christmas morning bells from around the country? I always thought that they must have been recordings.
There was always a hook up around the Empire too, or what was left of it --" Come in Mr Ekeoba from Kenya ! " Sometimes an OB unit followed a postman on his rounds while I twiddled my toes round those parcels at the foot of the bed. Happy Days!