Topic: Instrumental Versions - Handbells
Change ringers in England, who were mentioned in the post for 9 December 2018, learned they produced the loudest tones when the bells began facing upward and sung in a full circle. From there, they made technological changes to the bells’ superstructures so they could make the clappers connect to the bells at predictable times. [1]
The English, however, did not move beyond playing permutations to performing recognizable tunes. That step was taken in the Netherlands where carillons were developed. Today, a distinction is made between a carillon that has at least 23 bells and a chime that has fewer, but then the term was still generic. They were played with keys, levers, and/or pedals connected by wires to the bells. [2]
Jacob van Eyck isolated the overtones produced by bells so they could be forged to sound in harmony. Then, in 1645, he began working with Pieter and François Hémony who, independently, had cast a tuned set of bells the prior year. [3] This was the height of the Dutch East India trade and the newly "rich mercantile towns of the lowlands exhibited their status by installing fine carillons in their church towers." [4]
The Hémonys had no successors and their casting secrets died with them in 1680. Interest in bells themselves waned with the French Revolution, [5] only to be revived by wealthy Americans at the end of the nineteenth century. In Hudson, Ohio, a man who made his money from coal mines paid for a clock tower with four chimes in 1912. [6]
The development of handbells paralleled that of carillons. Van Eyck had a small keyboard with 30 bells installed in his home for practice and teaching students in 1631. [7] Nicolas Jullien established what became the Petit and Fritsen bell foundry in the Netherlands in 1690. Since this was before Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, it used the overtones of the time, which differed from those that would develop in England after William of Orange ascended the British throne in 1689. [8]
Like carillons, handbells are held in an upright position to produce the maximum sound. Instead of a superstructure controlling the motion, handbells have internal mechanisms that direct clappers to the optimal strike points. [9] Unlike tower bells, the duration of the sound can be limited by "damping the bell with a hand or on the body or a padded surface." [10]
The Encyclopædia Britannica noted the music that adapted the best to carillons was from the period when they first were developed, the Baroque. Romantic music that developed after the French Revolution had to "be chosen selectively." However, it said improvisations on "folk songs and other familiar themes" also worked. [11]
The most popular handbell arrangement of "Kumbaya" was published in 1993 by John Wilson for two or three octaves. He was the executive editor of Hope, a Chicago religious publisher closely associated with Methodists. Its founder, Henry Sheperd Date, had attended the organizational meeting of the Epworth League in 1889. [12]
By the end of the twentieth century, Hope and its Agape subsidiary had expanded their marketing to meet demands from other denominations. Wilson himself had worked for Methodists, Anabaptists, and the Moody Church. [13] He reissued his version of "Kumbaya" for three to five octaves in 2001.
Wilson emphasized the melody throughout, usually scoring it in octaves. The other instruments played chords like a piano accompaniment that required precision attacks by the players. Toward the end, the higher bells had a descant, but the sheet music advised players to "bring out melody."
The time signature varied, but the bell choirs played every melodic section slowly enough that the overtones dissipated between strokes. The clamor of Middletown’s Congregational Church [14] was eschewed, either by structural acoustics or technique.
One of the groups who uploaded a video to YouTube was in Hudson, Ohio, and the other two had origins in German churches. Two played "Kumbaya" during the collection.
Four who mentioned the arrangement in church bulletins indicated it was a prelude, and three that it was played before a scripture reading. Only one perceived it as a children’s song to be scheduled before their segment of the service. [15]
Performers
John Wilson
Vocal Soloist: none
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Group: handbells
Rhythm Accompaniment: TD/PI/Mallet; Sk; RT
Hudson Evangelical Presbyterian Church
Instrumental Group: Bell Choir, 10 ringers
Conductor: Sarah Norman
Christ Church
Instrumental Group: Handbell Ensemble, 7 ringers, 3 women, 4 men
Conductor: Robert Schumm
Grace Lutheran Church
Instrumental Group: Joy Ringers Handbell
Conductor: Laurie Sweigart
Credits
John Wilson, 2-3 octaves
African American Spiritual
Arranged by John F. Wilson
Copyright © 1993 by Agape
3-5 octaves
Copyright © 1993 and this Arr. 2001 by Agape
Notes on Lyrics
There were none
Notes on Music
John Wilson
Time Signature: 4/4
Tempo: Slowly and expressively, quarter note = c.80 beats per minute; changes to rhythmically, quarter notes = 126
Key Signature: 1 sharp, changing to no flats or sharps
Notes on Performance
Hudson Evangelical Presbyterian Church
Occasion: It looked like a rehearsal since few were in the audience, and people moved about while they were playing.
Location: around the altar table
Microphones: none
Clothing: White shirts and gloves
Christ Church
Occasion: Collection during service, 26 January 2014
Location: Altar, behind the altar table
Microphones: none
Clothing: White shirts and black slacks, black gloves
Grace Lutheran Church
Occasion: Collection during service
Location: Behind the choir
Microphones: none
Clothing: The choir wore white robes with maroon stoles; the Joy Ringers wore white shirts and long maroon scarves with white gloves
To be continued in next post
End Notes
1. Ron Johnston. "A Most Public of Musical Performances: The English Art of Change-Ringing." GeoJournal 65:17-31:2006. 18-19. Cited by Robert Adam Hill. "The Reformation of the Bells in Early Modern England." PhD. Simon Fraser University, summer 2012. 175.
2. "Carillon." Encyclopædia Britannica. 20 July 1998; last updated 11 May 2016 by Mic Anderson.
3. Aryeh Oron. "Jacob van Eyck (Composer)." Bach Cantatas website. August 2006.
4. "Carillon History." Guild of Carillonneurs in North America website. 30 March 2012.
5. Guild.
6. "History of the Hudson Clock Tower." Hudson, Ohio, website.
7. Oron.
8. Wikipedia. "Handbell."
9. Nancy Kirkner. "Buying Bells: Choosing a Brand." Handbells website. 10 December 2012.
10. Daniel K. Moore "Technique-ly Speaking: The Basic Ringing Stroke/Shoulder Damp." Overtones: The Official Journal of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers 44: 10-11:May-June 1998. Cited by Wikipedia.
11. Britannica.
12. Camp Songs, Folk Songs. 547.
13. John F. Wilson obituary. NWI Times [Munster, Indiana]. 12 November 2014. He worked for the Anabaptist Mountain View Bible College and Fort Wayne Bible College, as well as the Moody Bible Institute and Indiana Wesleyan University.
14. The Middletown Church bell ringers were discussed in the post for 6 December 2018.
15. For more on my source for church bulletins, see the post for 6 December 2018.
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