|
Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2012 18:47:00 GMT
What really makes a magnificent church? Probably everybody has a different answer: splendid architecture, history, stained glass, a great setting... There are a lot of possibilities, but there is one element that touches everyone, believers and non believers and people who have never set foot in the church or perhaps never even seen it. It sets the rhythm of the day and can sometimes announce both wars and celebrations -- the bells. Well, Notre Dame is getting new bells for its 850th birthday, and it badly needs them. It is also getting a powerful new and more melodious organ, but the bells are more important. Nine new bells will be cast and delivered soon, and they will change everything. Parisians don't know and don't really care how many bells there are in a church. They hear them regularly, but they don't really give them a second thought. The project endeavours to bring back the sound of the bells of 1686 which lasted until the revolution, when just about all of the bells of France were turned into cannons. One bell from that period still remains in Notre Dame, and its name is Emmanuel. It was installed in March 1686, so Emmanuel is 326 years old. The lifespan of a church bell is between 50 and 300 years, depending on its quality and the frequency of use. Emmanuel is a very fine bell and has one of the best sounds in Europe, so it will be the only bell kept. It weighs 13 tons and has the entire south tower to itself. It is only rung about six times a year. The north tower contains 4 bells "of poor quality and of clashing tones" which were installed in 1856. A perfectly toned bell will tickle your intestines while a discordant one will just injure your ears. The four bells were never in tune with Emmanuel, so they will all be removed. Eight bells will surround another great new bell named Marie. The sound of all of these bells will resurrect the sounds described in Victor Hugo's novel. So, how do you make a new bell worthy of a cathedral? You make them exactly as they were made in the Middle Ages -- an alloy of 78% copper and 22% tin in a mould made of clay mixed with horse manure and goat hairs. Of course, once the bell has cooled down, it turns into a matter of math and physics and a lot of electronics before it is ready. If you have read all of this, you should be allowed to listen to the simulation of the glory of the new bells: www.notredamedeparis.fr/IMG/mp3/NDP_Projet_Cloche.mp3
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Feb 13, 2012 19:14:57 GMT
Interesting. I wonder whether they will have any human bell ringers or whether it will all be done electronically.
Can you think of any situation where they would ring them all, like on this audio file (which I confess I found a bit discordant at times)?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2012 19:18:54 GMT
No human bell ringers in such a big place, I'm sure. I think that they ring them like this at Easter. Otherwise we might have to wait for a victory over space aliens (who will probably have melted or vaporized the Eiffel Tower in the opening round).
|
|
|
Post by mich64 on Feb 13, 2012 19:19:18 GMT
So very interesting Kerouac! I look forward to hearing the new bells in September. I love bells ringing from Church and am looking forward to hearing them this weekend when my niece is married!
When in Switzerland our hotel room faces a Church across the road. I find comfort in listening to them, even though they were sounded every 15 minutes. Some people have commented on travel sites how annoying it is, but not to us, we ask for the same room when we have returned on visits.
You sure do inform us on some unique happenings in Paris, we are so lucky.
Cheers! Mich
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2012 19:25:18 GMT
I fear that the tentative inauguration date will be Palm Sunday 2013, so you'll have to make yet another trip.
As a consolation prize, I will say that the cathedral of France with the greatest number of bells is Verdun (16), followed by Strasbourg (13).
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Feb 13, 2012 19:27:06 GMT
13 tons!! I knew those huge bells had to be heavy, but wow!
Thanks so much for including the simulation after the fascinating description and history of Notre Dame's bells. I have to say I found the sound absolutely thrilling and perfect for the church, its history, and its setting. As the sound developed throughout the ringing, I found it profoundly moving, triumphant, joyous -- all the things that those bells must be meant to convey.
Sure, I can imagine that people who hear them all the time must tune them out, but on major occasions, even the most jaded will probably attend to the beautiful new sound.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Feb 13, 2012 19:29:40 GMT
Bixa, I don't imagine anyone is jaded by hearing the bells of Notre Dame. They are certainly not rung very often, especially not all together.
My first thought on hearing them was indeed ringing to celebrate something dramatic, like the end of a war.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Feb 13, 2012 19:33:39 GMT
pee ess ~~ just sent this off to three different people in my family who attended midnight Mass in Notre Dame one year. I used the handy little email button at the top left of the page, so didn't even have to navigate away from this page to do it.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2012 19:47:07 GMT
Without believing in anything -- and as onlyMark has mentioned in the past -- I am transported when I hear the call to prayer wafting over a city in the Middle East. So I am relatively certain that people of any or no creed can be impressed when hearing truly astounding church bells vibrating their stomachs.
|
|
|
Post by mich64 on Feb 13, 2012 19:50:16 GMT
Dang it! I guess I will just have to make another trip plan... ;D
I do believe I remember them being sounded when I was there in 2008 when the Pope held a Mass in Paris during his visit? It was an outdoor Mass staged in front of the National Assembly, and I do remember Church bells but I guess I do not know from which Church they were being sounded from.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2012 19:59:38 GMT
I went looking for a photo of Emmanuel....
|
|
|
Post by onlymark on Feb 13, 2012 20:21:14 GMT
Dang it! I guess I will just have to make another trip plan... ;D Don't you mean "Dong it"?
|
|
|
Post by onlymark on Feb 13, 2012 20:26:30 GMT
And extra kudos goes to all those who know of the top of their head what the art or practice of bell ringing is called, plus what is Big Ben.
|
|
|
Post by lagatta on Feb 13, 2012 23:31:05 GMT
This is wonderful. I'm a hardcore atheist, but I was thrilled to be walking down the street and the bells of St-Édouard - quite a large and imposing greystone church, but only from the turn of the last century - were ringing furiously for quite a long time. Lots of church bells in Italy, but indeed, like the Muslim call to prayer, the first session is pre-dawn.
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Feb 14, 2012 8:02:44 GMT
That is awesome news Kerouac! Believe me, if I have to get their with a walking stick I will do my level best to be within earshot on Palm Sunday 2013
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Feb 14, 2012 8:06:42 GMT
I don't know what the art of bell ringing is called without looking it up, but this all reminds me of a book by Dorothy L Sayers called The Nine Tailors, about Lord Peter Wimsey having to learn to ring church bells in a snowy English village as part of his detecting.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2012 13:34:38 GMT
Just to show what it is like to work for a company with insane policies, here is the message I got on my office computer when I tried to click on the sound file for the bells: The Media type or content is not permitted.
Your request could not be processed. Either 'force_deny' or 'force_exception' was matched in policy (I don't have the slightest idea what that last sentence means! )
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Feb 14, 2012 14:56:27 GMT
Ah -- thanks, Bjd. I also thought of that book when I read this post, but couldn't remember the title. I read it @40 years ago, but can still remember why the appearance of the corpse was so mysterious.
|
|
|
Post by koloagirl on Feb 17, 2012 1:34:24 GMT
;D
Aloha from Kaua'i!
Information like this is why Any Port is so fabulous - where else could I find out that the 326 year old bell in Notre Dame Cathedral is named Emmanuel??
And yes, darn it, I will just have to have another trip to Paris as well - since our trip there this September will be too early to enjoy the new sound! ;D
Mahalo (thank you) Kerouac2 - as always!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2012 8:12:34 GMT
The main thing to keep an eye on is whether or not they will stick to their schedule. Not only have the new bells not been cast yet, but they haven't even chosen which bell making company to use, of where there appear to be about 5 or 6 left in Europe.
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Feb 17, 2012 9:15:02 GMT
Night before last there was a programme on TV - either Discovery Channel or 'How it's Made' where they showed the entire process from start to finish on how a church bell is cast. I was amazed at the intricate and very lengthy process! So c'mon Paris City Fathers - choose someone!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2012 6:11:33 GMT
They're already making progress in Paris: the old bells were removed yesterday. I saw them on the news and they looked terrible. I think Quasimodo must have been gnawing on them.
|
|
|
Post by sfgirl42 on Mar 7, 2012 2:12:04 GMT
Hi kerouac2, I was in Chartres and happened to be sitting on a bench outside (wasn't certain if I wanted to wait until after the mass to go visit) and when the bells started ringing it felt almost like a command (I'm not RC). I was suprised how being there during the mass made the experience of being inside more intense. In France I've often gone to choral or organ concerts in churches so on trip I planned on going to a vespers service at ND de Paris. What a regrettable choice. I had avoided the church before (had no interest even of a historical nature) and the vespers service did nothing to make me appreciate it any more. I, too, read Nine Tailors by Sayers (and reread it every couple years). Campanology is the study of bells... In the film Andrei Rublev there's a part which involves casting a bell..(the whole film is a must see) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Rublev_(film)In listening to the bells at Chartres (they ring before the mass-or at least several of them- and during the consecration, I think) I was struck by what seemed to be secondary tones to each bell..rather than a single pitch (which we, i the digital age have become accustomed to) there was a more complex sound to each bell when rung. It made enough of an impression on me that on a later trip to France I made it a point to spend my jetlag time (I allowed two days) in Chartres so I could listen to the bells at my leisure (and of course there's so much there anyway, aside from the church and bells).
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2012 12:03:18 GMT
Bells can have a totally variable effect, obviously depending on the quality of the bell, but also the environmental acoustics and naturally the mood you are in. I have been in places where the church bells are just annoying and others where the sound is absolutely magical.
I confess that in Paris, my ears filter out just about all the sound of bells (as well as most of the other urban noises), unless I am right next to a church when it rings the hour. Then it's kind of impossible to ignore.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2012 21:18:14 GMT
On the news yesterday, they said that the new main bell has just been cast -- in the Netherlands. It must now cool for a month before it is refined to make the proper tone.
All of the other other smaller bells will be cast in France, but the place in the Netherlands is apparently the only place in the world to make big bells that last 200 years.
In any case, the bell project is on schedule and the new bells should indeed all be ready for Easter 2013.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2013 19:41:59 GMT
The new bells arrived at Notre Dame today after a procession through the city.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jan 31, 2013 20:07:14 GMT
Am I crazy, or did that simulation audio clip used to be longer?
It's exciting to see the shiny new bells, partly because I told someone about this thread several weeks back, then forgot to send her the link.
Any idea what will be done with the old bells?
|
|
|
Post by htmb on Jan 31, 2013 20:50:10 GMT
What a perfect spot for you to take that picture, Kerouac!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2013 20:55:47 GMT
I did not take that picture -- it's a news photo.
|
|
|
Post by htmb on Jan 31, 2013 21:44:31 GMT
I did not take that picture -- it's a news photo. Well, you COULD have taken it. It's almost up to your standards.
|
|