General
This page is for general comments, observations, input from visitors to the recitals, and lagniappes of every kind.
Word of the day: Sound Color
Sound color, or timbre, includes all the characteristic elements in a sound which allow the listener to differentiate between different sounds. This makes sound color a human experience, and where bells are concerned, it is based on several physical properties of the bells themselves: position of the partials, their loudness during the strike, their sound decay over time, and the time necessary for the bell sound to completely develop after the strike. It is the tierce partial in particular which determines the sound color of the bell compared to other instruments. Interestingly enough, it appears that an individual's hearing sensitivity also heavily contributes to the perception of sound color: not only is resonance time determined by hearing, but the ability to hear both low tones (which are perceived as warm tones) and higher tones (which are perceived as brighter or sharp sounding) also affects the "sound color experience".
LA Rider Show
On Sunday, July 6, Greg Robichaux - one of my friends in the motorcycling world - came to visit during my performance. It was great to see him, and he brought along some folks from LA Rider, a t.v. show about motorcycling that airs all over south Louisiana. Bob Courtney, T.W., and a friend came along with Greg and we had a ball - I took them up to show them the playing cabin and bells and had a great time showing them the "wires" as it were.
In addition to filming me at the carillon, Bob and T.W. came by our shop on the 18th to record a little of me on my bike: I'm proud to say I acquitted myself fairly well and put off dropping my bike until after they'd left!
The segment about the Brownell carillon aired on Thursday, July 24, at 8:00 p.m. on Cox 4 in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, and at 10:30 p.m. on channel 65 on Allen Cable (WPXL-TV New Orleans, Channel 49).
LA Rider did an excellent job with this segment, and they did a wonderful job of connecting our piece to a later one in the same show about a cannoneer - you'll have to see it to really appreciate the work and thought Bob put into this piece. You can visit www.larider.tv to get information about requesting a d.v.d. of this show if you weren't able to catch it when it aired.
Many, many thanks to Bob, T.W., and Greg for making all of this happen: in addition to giving the Brownell carillon the best coverage I've seen, they've won a fan for life. Thanks y'all!
Carillon Repairs Completed
On Thursday, May 15, the repairs to the clappers in the Brownell Carillon were officially completed!
I first got the news that the repair crew, headed by Mr. Robert Funkhouser, was headed to Brownell to begin work on the bells on May 5th. By the end of the week, I learned that they'd arrived and were well into the process. Unfortunately, because of the recent flooding of the Mississippi and the subsequent release of high waters through the spillways, most of Brownell Park was under water: the park was closed and the crew had to wade to and from the bell tower wearing high boots and carrying sticks to protect themselves from water snakes and other dangers. Although this might have caused any other crew to have second thoughts about carrying on with the repairs, Bob and his fearless staff braved not only the flood waters and water moccasins, but also the dizzying height of the bell deck level of the tower.
Bob and his assistant, Anne, removed all of the clappers with worn strapping from the bells - sometimes using only an effortless twist on the clappers to shear the old and rotted straps holding them inside the bells - then they re-installed the clappers with new strapping. They also cleaned (again!) the mud dauber nests from the bells, reaching up even to the top level and smallest bells where I was never able to reach myself. They checked and replaced transmission wires as necessary, and even had to remove some of the hardware from one of the bells and have it welded - a very big thanks goes out here to E.J. Fields Machine Works, Inc. for doing this welding for us and refusing to take a cent in return!
Early the next week, the second wave of Bob's crew arrived, and they, too, donned waders and took on the task of helping to complete the repairs. With every clapper put in good repair, they checked and adjusted the rest of the hardware, assessed the condition of the tower roof, and evaluated the need for and possible methods of screening in the bell deck later on to protect from future mud dauber attacks. Finally, on Wednesday, the keyboard was adjusted and the bells rang out with their clearest voice in decades.
Throughout it all, I was unable to participate in these repairs, and I bitterly regret not being able to stand witness to the first clarion call of the refurbished bells in this carillon; however, this regret is soothed by the fact that the bells have been repaired and are ready to sing again their siren song to everyone within earshot of this park and the treasure contained within.
I hope to get pictures soon of the repair work in process: these will be loaded here as soon as I receive them.
A heartfelt thanks goes out to Bob Funkhouser and his crew for doing these repairs and for their graciousness under conditions which were far from optimal. Thanks for everything - I love you guys!
Also, I'd like to thank Ms. Mary Catherine Holcomb of the Morgan City Daily Review for going to the park Wednesday and braving the floods and the climb to the tower bell deck in order to get information and pictures for her upcoming article. She got the rare privilege of hearing the bells played for the first time after the repairs, and I'm sure this was an inspiration to her writing - this article is something we can all eagerly look forward to.
Be sure to check in here for more information about all these events - I'll keep y'all posted as the info comes to me.
And now,
"Laissez les bell temps rouler!"
Video Links:
Here's a somewhat long video produced by Texas Tech University, which gives a lot of information about carillons, bells, composition, etc. Check it out.
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/communications/news/stories/videos/carillon.php
Also, try this link: it's from youtube, much shorter than the above but interesting. One warning - turn down your sound, the background music is a killer on this one!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXGC_PLduj8
And finally, here's a youtube link to a performance by my mentor in Cast in Bronze: there are many videos on youtube of CIB performances, but this one with fairly good video quality and sound: nothing like the quality of any of his c.d.'s or d.v.d., but it gives an idea of what Cast in Bronze is. Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyJbeIPG2FI
Ramblings
Our most faithful guests, Jesse and Dana, sent me these pictures which they took during their visit to the Bok Tower in Florida. Their visit sounded awesome, and I've got this spot marked as one I plan to visit sometime in the near future!
Beautiful, isn't it?
This carillon was a main source of inspiration to Mrs. Claire Brownell in her quest to create the Brownell Memorial Carillon. One look explains why.
F.Y.I.
Some of my recital visitors have asked about a web site with information about carillons around the country. The main one I'm familiar with is the Guild of Carillonneurs of North America site. Hit the link below to go directly to their page for information about carillons - both traditional and non-traditional - and chimes.
http://www.gcna.org/data/Data_Top.html
This photo is courtesy of Greg Robichaux, taken around July of 2006:
These are some of the big spiders that spin their webs across the park paths during the summer - they're amazing!
Thanks to some special people:
I'd like to thank a few people who have helped and inspired me since I became enchanted with the bells.
Thanks to Carol Lens, my first carillon teacher. In spite of the fact that I knew nothing about the carillon, had no background in piano, and could barely read music, Carol was kind enough to accept me as a student and patient enough to guide me through those first tough lessons without giving up on me.
All my best to Greg Robichaux, who has been an unfailing help and encouragement throughout my efforts with this carillon - Greg, you're the best!
To Mike, Renee, and Russell at Brownell Park - without them and their support, there would be no music. Thanks for everything.
My heartfelt thanks to Frank DellaPenna and Cast in Bronze for the music that swept me into this amazing journey and for the unending inspiration and encouragement that has kept my feet firmly on the path. Thanks, Boss - I owe you one.
And to my husband, Brian, who led me to the bells in the first place. When the carillon captured my heart Brian was standing right beside me, and he's backed me up ever since then. He urged me on when I felt discouraged, bragged on me when I did well, has been my ground crew at the recitals, and has made it possible for me to pursue this elusive dream since we made the move to Baton Rouge. Thank you, baby - I love you.
e-mail: strike_note@hotmail.com
