The Glorious Carillon

There is no shortage of bequests to provide churches and colleges with a carillon; the trouble is there is seldom enough left over for the salary of the rare musician who can play the big bells. North America at present has 115 carillons and only six fulltime carillon-neurs. All six are members of the Guild of Carillonneurs of North America, a society of 60 or so friends and players of the carillon who gather yearly to talk about what's new in bell ringing. Last week at the Washington Cathedral's inaugural recital on its new $250,000, 53-bell carillon, it was obvious that the church fathers knew just whom to hire to handle their heroic instru ment. The man at the keyboard was Guild President Ronald Barnes.

Barnes, 36, arrived fresh from a twelve-year engagement at the University of Kansas, where he was resident carillonneur, professor of carillon and harpsichord, and curator of rare musical instruments. He brought to Washington the sort of vellum-bound humor acquired in his esoteric calling. "A good organist can adapt to a carillon fairly quickly," he said pleasantly. "In about two years he should have a good start on it."

Carillon technique requires striking rounded oak keys with clenched fists while pumping on the foot pedals--yet tone is controlled by variations in touch, just as on a piano. In his octagonal playing cabin inside the 301-ft. Washington tower, Barnes is surrounded by bells on all sides, and the broad keyboard confronts him like a firing squad's rifles. Each carillon is unique, and because the 12-ton, E-flat bourdon bell in the Washington carillon is heavier and therefore deeper in pitch than its counterpart in Kansas, Barnes must rescore all his music a major third higher to suit the new instrument.

The purpose of the inaugural recital was, in large part, to appease the neighbors: half the 10,000 invitations went to families who may henceforth expect to be awakened now and then in the church's good name. But at the peal of the first bell, all fears of future grumbling vanished on the light night wind. The timbre and quality of each of the bells proved to be perfectly matched, and Barnes won warm reviews for the nuance, style and strong rhythmic feeling with which he played the 60 tons of sonorous bells that he is confident are the world's finest.

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